Hellooo there everyone.  This is my first Harry Potter fic…  hope you like it, and I'm always open to suggestions, as long as they're constructive.  It'll get better.  Note: Crow is not pronounced like the bird…  it's like ow that hurts, with "cr" in front of it.  Give it a chance. 

            Oh yeah, I don't own Harry Potter and this fic will contain slash… 

The Wizard of Crow

Chapter 1

The First Hint

Harry walked down the long deserted hallway.  Considering that it was 1:30 in the morning, it wasn't much of a surprise that the corridors were empty.  His slippers muffled the sounds of his footsteps and the invisibility cloak covered his form from any questioning eyes.  If you could have seen through the cloak, the sight that met your eyes would have been a very odd one.  Harry was hunched over; a large weight was pulling him down and his shoulders were hunched.  In his arms he held a large stack of books, all of which were at least 500 pages in length.  On top of the books was a large case of get well cards.  Harry sighed quietly.  Hermione had to pick the week before final exams of all weeks to get sick.  Madame Pomfrey had forbidden her to study, so Harry was fulfilling his duty as a good friend and smuggling her books to the hospital wing each night.  Why Ron, her boyfriend, couldn't do it was beyond Harry.

            Regardless, Harry was on his way to the hospital wing.  As he approached the door, he slowed to a stop.  Nervously, he peeked into the room.  It was deserted save for a young girl of 17 sitting upright in a hospital bed.  He crept into the room and pulled off his cloak.  Actually, it was more liked he shrugged it off, not being able to access the material because of the books weighing him down.  Hermione smiled as she saw her friend's head appear.  "Harry!  You came!  Ooooh, you're brilliant, you know that?  I'd have failed these exams if it weren't for you."  Somehow, Harry doubted that.  Hermione had probably never failed so much as an eye exam in her life.  He just grinned sheepishly in response.  "Well, I'm glad I was able to help, but me getting caught won't be of much use to either of us, so I'll be going now."

            Hermione nodded and smiled her appreciation again.  "Oh, by the way," Harry commented as he was leaving "those cards are from everyone, hoping you get well soon and Ron sends his love."  At that last note Hermione's smile grew three sizes larger and she blushed slightly.  They had been going out for almost two years now, but it was still obvious how in love they really were.  Harry smiled and waved half-heartedly and left the hospital wing, pulling the invisibility cloak over his as he stepped over the threshold. 

            Harry was happy that Ron and Hermione had each other now.  It had been obvious to him that they belonged together for some time now, but the two involved seemed to have been a bit slower at realizing it.  At the same time though, Harry couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy mixed with a few stabs of loneliness when he saw them together.  One thing he wanted more than anything was to be loved and find something that came even close to what Ron and Hermione had.  The raven-haired young man had all but given up on his ever being completely happy.  On top of that, with the situation with Voldemort becoming more and more threatening everyday, he didn't want to risk hurting someone or being hurt because of an unexpected death.  He defiantly didn't need any more of those in his life.

            Harry shook his head, doing his best to get the downcast thoughts out of his mind.  He trudged on down the hall, anxious to get at least a few hours of sleep before he had to go back to the hospital wing and retrieve Hermione's books.  The steps up to Gryffindor Tower seemed even steeper than usual and Harry's legs felt like lead.  He yawned as he gave the password and it was a wonder that the Fat Lady had understood him.  "Try and speak more clearly next time dear, mumbling is very unbecoming."

            Harry muttered his thanks and entered the common room.  A red head was seen sitting in one of the chairs and turned around as Harry entered.  "How's she feeling?  Did it go all right?  Did you remember to tell her that I-" 

            "She's fine Ron, and everything went fine.  And yes, I told her you loved her.  I don't understand this, you're sitting here awake and why is that you can't bring her the books?"

            "I already told you Harry, if you get caught it'll be just a friend doing an innocent favor.  But if it was me and I got caught…  well, what with me and Hermione's relationship, they might think my intentions were less than innocent…"  As Ron was saying this, his face grew red, the color creeping all the way up to his hairline.  Harry sighed.  "Okay, but you both owe me big for this."

            Ron grinned at him and nodded his head.  As the two boys made their way up the stairs Ron began chattering excitedly about the summer and how it was possible that the Chudley Cannons were finalists for the World Cup that summer.  Harry had heard the story at least six times already, and needless to say he was getting a bit bored of it.  In a last attempt to save his sanity, Harry tuned Ron out.  He hated doing it to his best friend, but it was either that or ending up in the hospital wing with an express ticket to St. Mungo's.

            Upon reaching their dorm, Harry quickly changed, said good night to Ron and flopped down on his bed barely taking the time to make sure that his alarm was set properly.  Moments after his head came into contact with the pillow he was asleep, drifting on the sea of dreams.  Usually dreams were not a place Harry liked to visit.  They were full of memories and horrible ideas of what the future might hold.  However, tonight's dream was not unpleasant at all. 

            Harry was standing in the center of a quaint looking house feeling rather dizzy.  He looked around slowly, trying to figure out where he was.  A door was located on the wall opposite him, and with unsteady steps he approached it.  Upon reaching it, Harry paused a moment and tried to clear the spinning form his head.  As he opened the door, a light shone through.  Once he had stepped out he saw a tiny fairy flickering about his head while hundreds of extremely tall people looked at him with gratitude.  The fairy stopped and hovered in front Harry's face; it's wings creating a gentle breeze on his features.  It was male fairy with longish blond hair and piercing gray blue eyes.  He looked familiar, but Harry failed to connect the face with a name.

            He looked around again and saw that huge buildings were looming overhead and aside from the small house he had just stepped out of, he was in a large city.  The only city that Harry had ever been to was London and it was larger by at least ten times.  All at once the people around him began chanting in an almost sing-song voice, " The Snake Son of the Eastside is dead…"  Harry looked around in wonder but as the people continued their song his view began to fog over and a beeping sound resounded through the air as the world slipped out of his view. 

            Harry sat up suddenly and looked about the room.  Ron was still sleeping soundly and Neville's snores could be heard faintly through the curtains of his bed.  Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes Harry turned off the alarm that had woken him up.  After putting his glasses on, the Gryffindor climbed out of bed and dressed quietly so as not to wake his sleeping friends.  He crept quietly out of the dorm, across the common room, and through the portrait hole. 

            Steps echoing across the floor Harry made his way to the hospital wing.  He retrieved Hermione's books and walked back feeling sleepier every moment.  His mind began to wander back to the dream he had woken up from not too long ago.  He was struggling to remember it now, but he knew that had been more than a little odd.  As Harry climbed the steps to Gryffindor Tower he felt an odd sensation in his stomach, feeling as though something was going to happen and he couldn't help but feel anxious about it.  It was rather odd and Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of it.  He deposited Hermione's books on the common room's main table and went into the bathroom for a shower.  The rest of the tower was beginning to stir and soon most of the school was downstairs at breakfast. 

            It's not too long, but if you like it and want to get more please review!  I promise this will get good…