Disclaimer: I'm running out of ideas for funny disclaimers… So I'll just say that I don't own Harry Potter… I do own the Lewis Mansion, but that's it…

A\N: I should have done this before: This chapter is dedicated to samayn and hogwartsheir, who added me to their fav's!

Chapter 7: Thoughts

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Harry woke up, his scar hurting once again, his heart beating fast. Voldemort talked to him. Voldemort warned you. He sat there, shocked, ignoring Ron's loud snores, lost in thoughts. This dream seemed so… so real. That's what happens when you don't do any Occlumency, he sneered at himself. That's how he made you go to the Department of mysteries in the first place, that's why Sirius is dead. It's all your –

"No!" he said quietly. "It is not my fault. It is his fault; it's all because of him." And now you are talking to yourself because of him, said a voice in his head, he's going to drive you crazy, and –

Harry shook his head, trying to make those thoughts go away. He stood up, and went out of the room, going down to the kitchen. "Maybe a glass of water would help," he thought. When he got to the kitchen, he was surprised to find Dumbledore and Remus sitting there, engaged in a conversation. How could you be so stupid? You didn't even think of telling them about your dream…

"What happened, Harry? Are you alright?" asked Remus, standing up.

"Yeah," said Harry, "well, sort of… Voldemort just talked to me in my dream, he… he gave me a warning. I didn't practice Occlumency tonight," he added guiltily, "I was too tired, so…" and his voice trailed off.

Dumbledore looked at him seriously. "What did he say?" he asked.

"He said that this time I was lucky, but next time I won't escape," answered Harry, "But then, he already said that before," he added with a smirk.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't take it seriously," pointed out Dumbledore, "You do understand how important it is to close your mind, right?"

"Yes," said Harry, "Er… professor, how can I know that I'm doing Occlumency properly? Is there a way to check it?"

"Actually, there is," answered Dumbledore, "but I don't think we should try it now, your mind is still agitated from the dream you just had. We'll check in a couple of days, I promise."

Harry stayed up most of the night, talking to Remus. At four in the morning, he finally went up, and fell asleep, after closing his mind.

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When Harry woke up, Ron was already awake. "Come on," he said, "it's time for breakfast!!"

"Harry, dear," said Mrs. Weasley as they entered the kitchen, "I'm worried about your Aunt and Uncle – they didn't answer when I tried to call them down to have breakfast."

"They are probably afraid of having any touch with wizards… But I can't call them," frowned Harry, "they won't hear me, not until they are told that I'm here…"

"Of course," said Dumbledore brightly, "I forgot about that… Oh, the age, the age," he sighed. "I'll apparate to their room and tell them."

"I'm not sure they'll – " Harry started saying, but Dumbledore already disappeared. A minute later, a scream could be heard from the Dursleys' room. Another five minutes passed, and Dumbledore apparated back into the kitchen.

"Well, I told them that you are here, although they didn't understand why I was bothering to tell them," he smiled, "And we also agreed that they will go back to their house after the breakfast. I did try to convince them to stay here, but they were very reluctant about it, so I gave up. They'll come down soon."

Sure enough, Harry barely started eating, when the Dursleys walked into the kitchen. Uncle Vernon was eyeing Mr. Weasley warily, Aunt Petunia didn't look up at all, and Dudley was gaping at the food that Mrs. Weasley made. They ate their breakfast quickly, and Uncle Vernon growled towards Dumbledore, "We want to leave now."

"Well, I guess I'll just make a Portkey to take you back," said Dumbledore, getting up, and taking his wand out. Dudley was watching with an expression of mingled horror and interest, as Dumbledore put an apple on the table, and mumbled, "Portus". Uncle Vernon was staring at him questioningly, clearly not understanding what was going on, but Aunt Petunia, who seemed to know what Portkeys were, stood up, and walked closer to Dumbledore, beckoning Dudley to come with her. "If you could just touch the apple, Mr. Dursley," said Dumbledore. Uncle Vernon moved forward, very reluctantly, and the three Dursleys touched the apple. Seconds later, they were gone, and Harry let out a sigh of relief. "I didn't think it'd be so easy," he said.

After breakfast, went with Ron to explore the house. The Lewis Mansion was a big place, with lots of rooms, lots of portraits, and, mainly, lots of carpets. Each room had a different carpet, with a different pattern, that matched the wallpapers. It looked like the house belonged to somebody rich, but unlike the Black house, this somebody clearly wasn't a dark wizard. There was a room that had bookshelves full of books, many of which were ordinary Muggle books. ("I bet Hermione would love this room," said Ron.) In one of the rooms, they discovered, to Harry's surprise, a billiard-table, that was kept so well it almost looked new. Harry started explaining to Ron everything he knew about billiard (which wasn't much), and they even tried to play a few games. Both were lousy, however, so they quickly dropped it, and went on. They finished exploring the house only in the evening, completely exhausted from the long day, but very pleased with themselves. When they spread on their beds, somebody knocked.

"Come in," said Harry, wondering who could it be. The door opened, and Dumbledore entered the room.

"I want to keep the promise I gave you, Harry," he said, "Are you ready to check your Occlumency skills now?"

"What? Oh, yeah, sure. How are we going to do it?" asked Harry.

"You know what to do – just relax, and close your mind. I'll try to 'read your thoughts', as the Muggles call it, and we'll see how well you resist it," said Dumbledore calmly. Ron, who already knew about the dream Harry had ("You-Know-Who came to you in your dreams??? That's scary, Harry, it really is…") sat on his bed, watching with interest. Harry concentrated, and started breathing deeply. He closed his eyes and relaxed, and heard Dumbledore saying 'Legillimens'. However, nothing happened. Harry opened his eyes. Dumbledore was smiling.

"Excellent, Harry. If you continue practicing, I daresay Voldemort (Ron shuddered) won't be able to give you these dreams anymore," he said. "I'm leaving the Mansion today, and I'm not sure if I will see you two until the start of term, so have a nice holiday, and be careful. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Professor," said Harry and Ron together. Ten minutes later, they were both asleep.

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A week passed, and Hermione arrived to the Lewis Mansion. After scaring her, the same way he did with Ron, Harry greeted her merrily, and Hermione quickly brought up the subject of their O.W.L.s. She' of course, got an 'Outstanding' in everything, except for an 'Exceeds Expectations' in Astronomy ("But we all got distracted by those ministry fools who tried to catch Hagrid and stun Professor McGonagall," she said indignantly.) And, obviously, she chose to learn more subjects than both of them together ("Ron, I can't believe you gave up Potions! It's really important!" she cried desperately.) Nothing could convince her that she was overloading herself, and that she'll be sorry for it later. However, Harry was finally truly happy for the first time this summer – he was with his two best friends, and it had never felt so good.

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A\N: I do hope more people will REVIEW this time *angry face* Naaah, I'm just kidding. But you do realize you need to review if you want me to continue writing it, do you? Oh, whom am I fooling; I'm going to continue writing it anyway :) Next chapter – Diagon Alley, and we'll be meeting a long forgotten friend (or maybe not a friend… who isn't forgotten at all… *grins*)