Author's Note: I put a little reference to what a lot of the people on Gryffindor Tower believed about Sirius, as a tribute to the good times that we all had on that website. Long live the Queens of H/G.

Chapter Three: Dreams and Despair

Harry couldn't stand to watch any longer. He left the kitchen and slowly trudged upstairs.

Ron was right, he thought bitterly. I shouldn't have even talked to Percy! What was I thinking? There was no way he'd ever help clear Sirius's name!

He went into Ron's room where he found Fred and George, still red-faced and angry looking. Ron was lying on his bed, glaring at the ceiling. Harry knew without being told that Ron had heard about the fight. A few moments later, Ginny and Hermione came into the room. Hermione looked sad, while Ginny looked livid.

"How's Mum?" George asked Ginny.

"She's still crying," she replied. "I can't believe Percy just left like that…"

"I can," Ron said flatly. "If he ever sets foot in this house again, I'll flay him to within an inch of his life!"

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, horrified. "Don't talk like that; he's your own brother!"

"Well, I don't need a brother who treats us like dirt and goes around thinking that my best friend is crazy!" Ron yelled, sitting up.

"For a moment back there, I actually thought that he was really sorry," Ginny said through gritted teeth. "How could he be such an idiot? I mean, shouldn't we mean more to him than his precious Ministry?"

"Like I said before, we're well rid of him," Fred said coolly. "As of right now, I don't give a damn whether he moves back home or not."

George and Ron nodded in agreement.

"Well, whatever happens, I just hope that your parents will be all right," Hermione said sadly. "They don't deserve to go through this…"

There was a brief moment of silence. "Look, Percy's not worth all this," Fred said, standing up. "Why don't you lot come to our room? We're developing a new product for the shop --- Tar Balls!"

"Tar Balls?" Hermione repeated faintly.

"Yeah, it's this little ball that you throw on the ground and it spills out tar! Anyone who steps in it will be stuck for hours! Though it does make a big mess; the stains still won't come out of our carpet…"

"Maybe I'll use it on Malfoy when we get back to school," Ron said, managing a small grin.

"Not a bad idea," George said thoughtfully. "Pity we're finished at Hogwarts --- I would have liked to use some of our new products on the Slytherins… Anyway, do you want to come test it out?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny shook their heads. "No thanks," Ron mumbled.

"All right," Fred said. "See you at supper." He and George walked out of the room.

Harry sighed. "I hate this," he muttered.

"I know," Ginny nodded. "I wish there was something I could do to help Mum and Dad…"

"No… not that," he said. "I mean, I do want to help them… but I hate that I can't do anything to prove that Sirius was innocent!"

Everyone stared at him.

"Well, it isn't fair!" Harry said angrily. "After everything he went through; growing up with a family of Dark wizards, being framed, spending twelve years of his life in Azkaban, having to live on the run… and everyone else still thinks he was a murderer! They don't even know that he's dead!

"And meanwhile, Wormtail is still a hero!" Harry went on, spitting out the last word in disgust. "He and that cow who killed him are free as birds! What kind of justice system is that?"

Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic look. "It is unfair," she said gently. "But there's nothing we can do about it. No one will believe Sirius was innocent unless the Ministry catches Wormtail."

"And that's about as likely as Percy ever coming back," Ron said bitterly.

***

Dinner that night was a subdued affair. Although Mrs. Weasley had cooked her specialties, Harry hardly ate any of it. Neither did anyone else, for that matter.

Mrs. Weasley looked utterly miserable, her eyes red and puffy from crying, while Ron, Bill, and the twins kept glaring at their plates. Mr. Weasley looked as if he'd aged a decade or two.

After forcing down a few bites of food, Harry excused himself from the table and went up to Ron's bedroom, where he lay stretched out on his camp bed.

He ached for the Weasleys. They were some of the first people who had ever treated them him kindly. They didn't deserve to be put through such hell…

Harry felt a sudden rush of hatred for Percy. The lousy git…he came back to apologize, and he didn't even mean it! How could he be so cruel to his family? If they were my family, I wouldn't abandon them!

Then again, if Harry had been one of the Weasleys, he would have been hurt even more by Percy's actions. Wouldn't he? He could barely imagine feeling any worse than he was right now.

He sighed wearily. For the millionth time that summer, he wondered why Sirius had to be the one to die. Sirius was his godfather… his friend…

No, he'd been more than that; he was the only connection Harry had ever had to his parents, aside from Professor Lupin. In fact, he was he'd been the closest thing that Harry had to a parent. He knew that the Weasleys considered him part of their family, but the simple fact remained that they weren't his family.

Sirius had been Harry's only hope, futile as it was, to escape from the Dursleys… Well, he had been, until Dumbledore had told him that Harry had to remain in the Dursleys care, because Aunt Petunia's blood protected him against Voldemort.

Harry clenched his fists in anger. It wasn't fair! Just because his mother happened to have a bigoted excuse for a human being as a sister, he had to endure the Dursleys' presence every summer!

Why me? he wondered miserably. Why did I have to be the one who has to defeat Voldemort? Because of Bellatrix, Kreacher, and Wormtail, Sirius is gone! They took away from me!

A powerful fury enveloped him. If he could only get his hands on one of them…

You'd do what? an annoying voice in his head asked loftily. You couldn't even do perform the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix!

Bellatrix's loathsome voice rang out in his mind, mocking him. "Never used an Unforgivable, have you, boy? You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain --- to enjoy it --- righteous anger won't hurt me for long…"

I want to mean them, Harry thought mutinously. I want you to feel it so badly that you'll die from it!

He rolled over on his side and tried to sleep, but his anger kept him awake. He not only cursed Bellatrix, but also Kreacher, who had probably been let off scot-free, since he was a poor little victim in Dumbledore's eyes. And he especially cursed Wormtail --- it had been his fault Sirius had been in such a mess to begin with.

Harry was aware of nothing except these vindictive, bitter thoughts that kept running through his mind until he finally dozed off…

He was back in the Department of Mysteries, standing in front of front of the arch with the ragged veil. It was a place he had often visited in his fantasies, hoping that Sirius was still there.

The veil was fluttering slightly, as though a faint breeze was blowing through it. A hand emerged from behind the veil, and moved it back, revealing a familiar, tall, dark-haired figure…

"Sirius?" Harry called out, hardly daring to believe it.

"'Lo, Harry!" Sirius said, waving at him.

"But --- how --- I thought you were dead!" Harry sputtered.

Sirius let out his usual laugh like a bark. "Dead? I only fell through the veil, you little git! You should see what's behind it… they have a mall!" He held up a shopping bag that was full of assorted items.

"What?" Harry exclaimed, utterly bewildered by this.

Sirius extended his hand towards Harry. "Come on, there are a whole lot of girls I met there." As he spoke, Harry caught a glimpse of several female faces peeking out from behind the veil. They beamed at the sight of him. Strangely enough, they appeared to be wearing tiaras.

"I've told them all about you, and they'd really like to meet you," Sirius went on, grinning wickedly.

Harry smiled and grabbed Sirius's hand. It was true; Sirius was alive, and everything was going to be all right! He felt himself being pulled into the veil.

Suddenly, Sirius vanished, and Harry found himself seated in a darkened room, illuminated by candles. It seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't remember why…

A hooded figure was cowering before him. "Y-You s-summoned me here, My Lord?" he stammered.

"Yes," Harry replied in a high, cold voice that was not his own. "I have an assignment for you, Wormtail. Now that those fools at the Ministry have finally acknowledged my presence, I will need to keep a more watchful eye on my enemies --- especially that meddling Dumbledore..."

"W-What do you want me to do, Master?" Wormtail whispered, trembling.

"I need you to spy on a few of Dumbledore's friends," Harry said, pointing a long, pale finger at Wormtail. "Find out everything you can about what Dumbledore is planning. These people are very close to Dumbledore, so you will be sure to hear at least something of use to me."

"But --- why are you asking me do this, My Lord?" Wormtail asked timidly.

Harry rose out of his chair and drew out his wand from his robes. "You dare to question my orders?" he hissed, pointing his wand at Wormtail.

"No! No!" Wormtail shrieked, backing away from him. "I was merely asking…why not send someone else to do it?"

Harry lowered his wand. "True," he said. "I wouldn't have normally chosen a sniveling idiot such as yourself for such an assignment… but you are already acquainted with these members, so you will know where they live.

"However," he added, advancing on Wormtail, "since they already know that you're an Animagus, you are to keep out of sight. And if you make the slightest blunder," he said, pointing his wand at Wormtail again, "rest assured, I won't spare your worthless little life this time. I have no use for servants who can't follow my orders to my specifications --- just ask Bella..." He let out a high, cruel laugh that echoed throughout the room.

Harry jerked away, gasping for breath. He had done it again; he had entered Voldemort's mind. It was the first one dream he'd had since Sirius had died…

Was this dream real? Harry wondered. Or was it another trick from Voldemort?

Yet through his horror and confusion, he felt grim satisfaction. Even if it was another false vision, there was one thing he knew for sure that was true…

Bellatrix Lestrange was dead.

To be continued…