Harry looked around and once again wondered if this was all a dream. Wondering whether he was still at the Dursley's and just hallucinating. He walked over to the window seat and sat down. As he gazed outside Harry let his mind wander over everything that had been going on. He wondered what was going to happen to the Dursleys, if Voldemort would really torture his friends for power, and why it all related back to Harry. When he looked down he saw the snake ring, and sighed, then leaned back and looked out the window again, trying to keep his mind clear as he saw the beautiful gardens leading out to the rocky cliffs and the sea beyond.
"Master Potter, sir?" Harry was pulled back into reality by a small house elf dressed in what looked like the Snape version of the Hogwarts house elf toga. "I came help you, you is to be at lunch sir, Master Snape is saying that you is to be eating with him. Is little master knowing where it is, or is little master needing Rilly's help?" Harry smiled at the little elf.
"Your help would be wonderful, thank you Rilly." he said, and the little elf looked slightly frightened. "It's nice to meet you." He said kindly to the little elf.
"Master Potter is too kind. My cousin was being right. He is saying you is freeing him. He is working at Hogwarts now, and he is being very proud of you. He is telling Rilly to look after you sir. He isn't trusting my master." She said. "Master sir, we should be being off!" she said and began walking out of the room. Harry followed her a bit slower, he had been stiff from sitting so long and was leaning heavily on his cane.
"Is your cousin my friend Dobby?" he asked Rilly conversationally.
"Oh dear. Stupid Rilly. Rilly was often scolding Dobby, telling him no wizard would call him 'friend' but he was insisting you is as you are. Forgive Rilly for she was speaking ill of you sir" she pleaded as she hit her head against a wall. Harry stopped her and simply smiled at her with forgiveness.
"Rilly, calm down, I am not angry with you." He said as they walked into the dining room three minutes to one, Rilly wasn't quite done apologizing though. "Rilly so sorry for underestimating Master Potter, Rilly is not realizing how great he is. Rilly is being very proud to serve you." The little elf curtseyed and disappeared with a 'pop'. Severus had watched the whole scene and was a bit curious. He knew about the mudblood's misguided campaign for the house elves but he didn't think anyone else took it seriously. Harry settled himself at the table and used his best disarming smile.
"So who is Dobby?" he asked, trying to start a conversation. Harry looked up at him.
"A house-elf at Hogwarts. He brought me breakfast. Used to be Lucius's" Harry replied somewhat quietly.
"Lucius freed a house elf?" Severus asked with incredulity. Harry realized he might end up having to tell the story, and he wasn't sure how Snape would react.
"Yup, he gave him a sock." Said Harry as straight-faced as possible, trying not to remember how angry Lucius was.
"Oh, I overheard Draco mentioning it. Though I thought you were involved. I distinctly remember hearing 'as if father didn't hate him before…"
The mention of the Malfoys was beginning to ruin Severus's mighty attempt at being Flitwick cheerful in his own reserved way, plus it seemed to put Harry on edge. "I trust that your room is alright" he asked after a while to break the silence. Harry nodded politely. Severus wasn't sure what else to do so he simply stopped fighting the silence. When the meal was over he handed Harry several potions from his pocket, and left the table. The meals went on like this for a while. They would show up promptly, try and fail at conversation, and then sit quietly. Severus was really wondering why Albus had picked him for the job, but everytime he looked at Harry he saw that same expression of uselessness and Severus would vow to make things better, however each meal was another failure. Harry would spend his days doing what he wished and meet Severus, they would eat silently and part ways. Or so the potions master thought. Every day the boy looked a bit worse, he ate a bit less, and the rings under his eyes were deeper. Severus sighed, and then went about his work, making some potions to stock his classroom with, supplies for the hospital wing, and coming up with unconceivable amounts of work for his students.
Harry was suffering from his dreams. He tried to avoid them, and used the extra time to focus on learning more magic. Unfortunatly, he couldn't avoid sleep forever. He was reading the tome as he drifted off.
Harry was being beaten by Vernon who was calling him a murderer. Voldemort snuck into the house and killed him. Harry turned around wondering what was going on and Voldemort smiled sickly at him. Harry stood. "We could do great things together. I would give you all your heart desires. Like killing that filthy Muggle. Didn't it feel good to see him drop dead?" Harry denied it with all his mental energy. "He was just like my father, couldn't appreciate a good wizard. That is why I killed him. That is why you will enjoy killing your uncle."
"You are not a good wizard." Harry replied. "If I wished him dead, I would have done it myself. I do not share your weakness, your necessity of killing others." Harry continued, but his mind was nagging him, reminding him that he was relieved to
see the man drop dead.
"Well you have in your own way, too bad you won't be able to watch because you'll pass out from the dementor" said Voldemort with an evil chuckle and the dream disappeared.
Harry was simply in blackness. "I don't want him dead, I didn't want anyone to come, I am not like Voldemort." A large portion of his brain was saying, but a smaller, insidious part argued 'but you were happy to see him go, happy. Like Voldemort said.' "No, I am nothing like him. I was relieved because I wasn't being injured any more, no more no less. And I don't wish my uncle dead. I am sorry that he has had to put up with me and bear his poisonous hate for so long." Harry said, out loud this time. Something in the darkness responded.
"I apologize for the pain that you have endured, it was not of my design. However, from now on your dreams will be real, what is to come is to prepare you. It will be painful but you have already discovered much about the dream world. I whall do my best to aid you. Never fail to remember the Tutu and the feather duster." Harry looked around for the source of the voice, but did not see one, and then the world swirled again and he was in the all to familiar throne room. Death Eaters were surrounding Voldemort in front of them was a feeble old man. He was being interrogated, but Harry couldn't understand anything the man said, it was all in a Slavic language that he had never heard before. It sounded like he was pleading, but at the final 'crucio' his will was broken and he bagan to ramble on and on in his foreign tongue. After a while he stopped. Voldemort looked pleased.
"Avery, step forward." He said and pointed to one of the death eaters. The Death Eater approached the throne, bent down and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robe.
"Yes my lord"
"You shall use this man to take you to the hide-out where you will find the first of the trators to be punished. You will bring him back with you, do what you will with the prisoner."
Avery bowed and shuffled backwards to the safety of the circle after another 'yes my lord'
Voldemort then looked down at the ragged old man and levelled his wand 'Crucio' he said with sadistic happiness. Instead of the customary flash of light followed by screaming nothing but a little rainbow came out of Voldemort's wand and where it touched sunlight appeared in the dark chamber. Voldemort looked ready to kill. The Death Eaters were all watching his every move, fearful that he would. 'Crucio!' he shouted with rage. Fireworks shot out of his wand. Harry was laughing now, and curious if this was just in his dream and hopeing it was true. With pure venom in his voice he shouted 'crucio' once more, but Harry wasn't paying attention and this time the curse hit him. He fell to the floor shocked. He didn't realize that he would be able to be cursed. Voldemort obviously didn't see what had happened because he was still looking as angry as ever. "You are All dismissed." He shouted at the Death Eaters. They all carefully backed out of the room. The wizened old man looked up at Harry and said 'thank you' before he was dragged out. Voldemort caught this and began to stare at the spot the old man was looking at. "Avery. Stop. Bring that man here." He shouted. Avery stood still and the old man cringed. "What did you just say? Who were you thanking?" he shouted.
"My Lord.' He replied with a thick accent while trembling. Voldemort glared with his red eyes, and the old man began to weep. "He saved me further torture."
Harry had then woken up. There was a soft neighing out side of his window and when he looked out he was met by two large, crystalline green eyes. 'Ahild' Harry thought and opened the window wandlessly. He then heard the strange buzzing in his head again. "I came, as I said I would, you need some fresh air, lets go for a ride." He said. Harry nodded. He wanted to get out of the room, and this would be a good distraction, as he got out of bed he realized that it wasn't just a dream, he really felt like he had been hit by the cruatius. He stumbled, but regained his composure, accioed the thick cashmere cloak, threw it over his pajamas and hobbled over to the window, leaning heavily on his staff. He could see Ahild now hovering next to the window, and the Horse sensed Harry's pain, He edged closer to the window and stayed as stable as possible while Harry painfully clambered on. When he was settled the pain began to subside and he enjoyed the fresh air flying around him, and the silent company of the animal below him. Harry lost track of the time as they flew around, and many of his worries seemed to dissolve. It was not long before he nodded off into a deep sleep, but this was one filled with quiddich and friends, and there was no sign of pain in it. When Ahild was certain that Harry was calm he landed. He began to graze, Harry hugging his neck and dreaming quietly. Ahild stretched his wings and formed a type of cradle for Harry with them, and then carefully nudged him, until he was stretched out and sleeping comfortably. The horse then went about his own business. As the sun began to rise the horse began to walk back toward the castle. He picked several plants along the way and stuffed them into Harry's cloak's pocket. When they got to the window Ahild shrunk himself and the boy, and very smoothly flew up to the window and entered the room. He flew over to the bed and tucked the very small Harry in, then nudged him and he returned to his normal size. He went to the table holding the old, dusty potions tome and put it next to Harry's bed, and placed the staff leaning against the bed. Content that everything would be fine until morning he returned to the window and flew out.
Harry woke up with a warm fuzzy feeling, and noticed he was still wearing the cloak. 'So it wasn't a dream' he thought, and went to get out of bed. He then realized that that was ambitious. He hadn't realized the pain until he sat up, and remembered his dream. Wishing, for once, that Madam Pomphry was around, he thought about his cauldron and the potions ingredients he still had. He put his hand in his pocket to get his wand when he felt some strange plants. When he looked at the handful of plants he began to remember a pain potion there he wondered when he had picked them, then shrugged painfully. He summoned his cauldron, set it to levitate in the air above his bed, and then created a small orb of fire which he set up to levitate underneath. He looked at the ingredients he had and was curious about the necessity of belladonna but proceeded to look through the potions tome. He found the potion he was looking for, the name had been smudged out but looking at the ingredients, and the way they interacted Harry was sure that it would help him, and he began working on it, if for no other reason than to keep his mind off the dreams. Harry then charmed the cauldron to stir its self, and sank back against his cushions, taking out the book. He would read for the next couple of hours until the potion was complete. Harry didn't remember much about the dreams he had had that night, he vaguely remembered being hit with the cruatious curse and flying around the grounds with Ahild. He wouldn't have remembered any of his dream if he hadn't woken up with the pain. He looked at the table of contents for anything about dreams and began reading the chapter. He somewhat regretted giving up his systematic approach of learning one chapter at a time. He wanted to know every secret of the tome he had brought with him. It seemed every time he learned a skill a new one would appear so he didn't seem much farther along than when he started.
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Authors Notes: I didn't really get to edit this…I wanted to post a few chapters instead… If you find mistakes or would like to beta in future (that word has a really odd spelling…ever noticed? Anyway...) please mail me… blackmail@graffiti.net or put it in your review!
~~~~@ Myrra @~~~~