A/N: Hi! Ugh I wish it would snow! NY to like the Deep South is a big change in climate, lol! Okay, please keep reviewing! Thanks, **Jinglebellz**

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Chapter 10 (YaY!!!):

The next morning Harry awoke with a start once again, and deciding to still not tell anyone about the dream yet. After all, he hardly understood it. He had no idea whom Acacia was; he'd never heard of her. But suddenly something the snake had said came into Harry's mind. They live in your dreams… Could the snake know something? A slight muscle spasm passed through Harry and he shivered slightly. His scar suddenly gave a pointed burn, as if somebody was trying to point out that the scar was still there, and that it always would be. In a way, Harry wanted to tell Ron and Hermione, or Lupin, or Dumbledore, or even Ginny or Lenore. But something deep down inside was telling him not to; to just wait a little bit longer. Harry sighed and stepped past each Neville and Ron's beds to the dresser.

He put on his glasses and peered into the mirror. His hair was sticking up hopelessly and his scar seemed more visible than normal. Harry then turned to the clock. It was six in the morning. Harry sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, and he decided to just get dressed and head downstairs. It was still very dark out, without even a hint of the sunrise.

To Harry's great surprise, Lenore was sitting in front of the fire, staring into it. She looked as if she was crying. Harry walked over to her, wondering what was wrong.

"Lenore?" he whispered, sitting next to his second cousin. She turned around, facing Harry, and Harry saw their shadows flickering on the wall, reminding him strangely of two shadows from a dream once. And suddenly, a voice rang out inside Harry's head. I'm sorry, Godric…

Lenore hadn't been crying at all, Harry saw, but she looked different. Like she was somebody else. Older, more cautious, sad. Empty. Harry wondered if his own emerald eyes looked the ways hers did. "Hi, Harry. What're you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same question. I couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same," sighed Lenore. The two elapsed into a long silence, staring into the fire.

"You're sad," said Lenore suddenly, peering into Harry's face. In truth, Harry was sad. He couldn't stop thinking of Sirius. Whenever he emptied his mind, that was whom it landed on.

"I am," confessed Harry. "But you are, too. I can tell. I feel like I hardly know you. But you don't know how amazing this is, having real family. It's so nice, Lenore. But I still don't really know you, the way family should. Tell me about your friends or school or family- anything."

"Then you'll tell me about you?" Harry nodded, and Lenore obliged.

"I was born in New York, in the USA. Dad died when I was very young; all I really know is that I have his hair and that he was a very powerful Auror. Mom raised me. She was an Auror as well. When I was eleven, I went to a school in upstate New York. It was so beautiful there…" Lenore sighed. "Anyway, they didn't have houses, it was just one big school. I made two best friends the first day of school: Tabitha and Asher. They were so wonderful. Asher was really funny and good-looking, but I never liked him. He was also really popular, and everyone loved him. Tabitha was always sarcastic, but she was the best. She was extremely talkative and loved to read… Tabitha was just never at a loss for words. It was so funny hearing her go on and on. And me, I was the sporty, sometimes ditzy and fun-loving one. I, like, I don't know… but my friends and I completed each other. We never did really get the chance to go on many adventures or whatever. I miss them a lot. Asher was killed last summer in an attack on the city. It was awful, and it was the same attack my mom was killed in. Worst day of my life. And now Tabby's all alone at school, without us. Mom didn't tell anybody she sent me here, and she begged me not to write letters home. She said something about d horrible destiny. They all think I'm dead." Lenore seemed very sad by the end of her story.

"I'm so sorry, Lenore," said Harry, hugging her. His whole heart went out to poor Lenore; she'd had a tough time, though Harry was not one to talk. He then told Lenore about escaping Voldemort as a baby, his life with the Dursleys and about school and such. Lenore seemed in awe.

"You defeated You-Know-Who as a baby?" she asked, in shock. "I knew you'd done something great, but nobody ever told me- I can't believe you escaped from him that time!"

"Yeah," said Harry glumly. "And four times after that. But it's nothing to brag about. I keep escaping, while the people I love perish. Voldemort's killed so many people already, and just to get at me."

"It is not your fault, Harry," whispered Lenore sincerely.

"Yeah," said Harry, disheartedly. Right on cue, Mrs. Weasley entered the room brightly.

"Good morning, you two," she said happily.

"Morning, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

"Good morning," said Lenore.

"You two are up bright and early," observed Mrs. Weasley, "for going to bed at one in the morning. If I let him, Ron would be sleeping in all day!" She laughed. "Sleeping troubles?"

"Yeah," said both Harry and Lenore. Suddenly, a head of long red locks emerged into the door.

"Hello, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley. "What time did you wake up, dear?"

"Six," replied Ginny drowsily. "And I couldn't get back to sleep, so I just took a long shower. What time is it now? I didn't expect so many people to be awake. Oh, yeah, Good morning." Harry laughed.

"Morning, Ginny. We've actually been up since six as well. That's a little odd, no?"

"Yeah," said Ginny, stifling a yawn. "It is. When's breakfast, Mum?"

"In about an hour, Ginny, dear, when a few more people are awake. Is that all right with everyone?" Harry, Ginny, and Lenore nodded sleepily. The three chatted for about half an hour, until Hermione, Fred, George, and Neville came downstairs and joined them.

"So, Harry," began Hermione strictly, "how much homework have you finished so far this summer? Ron and I don't have too much left; I just have Snape's essay on the Remembrance Draught, and since Ron's not taking Potions this year, he only has a few essays in each Charms and Transfiguration." Harry guiltily looked down. He hadn't done any homework yet.

"Well, 'Mione," started Harry, racking his brain for an excuse. "I've been really busy and all, doing… stuff, and-"

"You haven't done anything?" guessed Hermione sternly. She sighed as Harry nodded. "Go figure. Oh, well, you'll just have to work extra hard to catch up; we're doing the same NEWT classes, Harry, so I know what you have to do, and I'll correct your essays and such. Today you had better begin the essay on Animagi, it needs to be four sheets of parchment so I suppose we'll be studying rather in depth this year-"

Harry groaned audibly.

"What?" asked Hermione. "Really, Harry, you're going to have to stop doing things last minute so often! Get into a good habit." Then, seeing the look on Harry's face, she stopped."Oh, Harry… Oh, well, we'll get to work in a few hours. In the meantime I suppose you'd better open your presents…"
"Thanks, Hermione!" said Harry happily, looking like Christmas had come early. Ginny and Neville laughed. Fred and George said goodbye cheerily and went off to work, and Harry, Lenore, Neville, and Ginny dashed upstairs to wake Ron and then to open Harry and Lenore's presents. Ginny, Harry, and Ron set to work opening Harry's large pile while Neville, Hermione, and Lenore opened Lenore's.

Harry sat down in a comfortable postion next to his pile of presents. Ginny handed him a present immediately, and reminded him to open hers first. Harry unwrapped the box to find a scarlet and golden picture frame, with a Gryffindor lion in the corner. Ginny hurriedly explained what it was.

"You can put in as many pictures as you want, and whenever you're thinking of a person in one of the pictures, their portrait will appear, and the picture frame will change colors to show how they're feeling at the moment; when the whole frame is scarlet, they're extremely angry or sad or afraid, and when the whole thing's gold, they're really happy. Usually, though, it's a pretty even mixture."

"Thanks, Ginny!" said Harry happily. That frame would probably really nice in making Harry feel better. Harry's next present was from Hermione; a book about wizard throughout history who'd defeated evil wizards. Harry flipped through the book, seeing that the last few pages were actually dedicated to him, Harry. He thanked Hermione and opened Ron's present, which was a large box of chocolate frogs and sugar quills, along with a few Skiving Snackboxes. Harry smiled, remembering how much use those had been in driving Umbridge crazy. Harry opened his presents from Neville, Luna, Padma and Parvati, Bill and Fleur, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, Mundungus, and many, many others from various friends and admirers, until he finally opened the last present, from Fred and George (a 20 Galleon gift card to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes). He looked over to see and exhausted looking Lenore on her last present as well.

"Oh, a homework planner, thanks Hermione; this should be really useful!" Harry and Ron exchanged glances, grinning, remembering Hermione's presents to them last Christmas only far too well.

"That was hard work," panted Ron happily. "But now let's go eat. I'm starved!"

"Me too," said Neville happily.

The teenagers all went downstairs to eat breakfast, and afterwards, Hermione, Harry, and Ron went into a small basement room to do schoolwork. Harry was extremely bored, working on his Transfiguration essay, thinking that he'd much rather be upstairs cleaning with his other four friends than doing schoolwork with Hermione. Harry sighed in frustration.

"Oh, Harry," sighed Hermione. "Relax! It's just homework!"

Ron snorted. "I never thought I'd see the day when Hermione said something was 'just homework'!" Harry nodded in agreement. Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to her essay, which was already two pieces of parchment longer thjan needed and four pieces of parchment longer than Harry's, which was just barely half of a piece. After a few moments, Hemione looked up from her work.

"Harry, what was with that snake yesterday? You said to ask later, but I never got the chance," she said.

"What snake?" asked Ron, looking up from his Charms research.

"Oh," said Harry, trying not to sound paranoid and downplaying the incident. "There was just this snake at the Magical Menagerie that started talking to me. No big deal, it was just odd." Hermione arched her thin eyebrows skeptically.

"What did the snake say?" she asked.

"Oh, just this load of rubbish," said Harry. "It was warning me about some evil person and said that it was sent by Slytherin, and it said that only the four heirs could defeat the fifth heir and that I couldn't tell the fifth heir about the message and to warn the other three."

"What?" asked Ron and Hermione at the same time. Then Hermione finished. "What do you mean, the other three heirs?"

Harry laughed. "It said I was the heir of Gryffindor. Just rambling, if you ask m-"

"Harry," said Hermione. "That's not funny. What if the snake was sent by Slytherin? Did it say why it was sent? What else did it say?"

"It said that they were alive; didn't say who they were; said that they lived in my dreams and inside the castle walls. Quite odd, reall-"

"Harry," cut in Hermione sharply, "Have you been practicing Occlumency?" Harry's stomach sank guiltily.

"Not exactl-"

"Harry!" yelled Hermione frantically. "What have you been dreaming; this is serious! And do not lie to me, Harry James Potter!"

"'Mione," said Ron, "calm down. Give him a chance to talk!"

Harry sighed. "For the last week, maybe I've been having dreams of- they probably aren't even real, but I think they've been of the four founders and one other woman. It's been like watching their shadows on a stone wall and hearing their voices." Hermione grew pale.

"Harry, we need to tell Dumbledore right away; this could be important! There could be something about V- Voldemort, and he needs to know!"

Harry exasperatedly looked at Ron, but he was nodding. "I reckon she could be right, Harry."

"Okay, I'll tell Dumbledore-"

"And in the mean time, practice your Occlumency. Those visions might be from Voldemort-"

"OKAY!" yeleld Harry.

"Tell Dumbledore as soon as possible, actually, let's do it now. Come on!"

"But Hermione," said Ron, "He's not even here!"

"Then we'll floo him; this is important."

"Oh, all right." Harry stood up and followed his best friends up the narrow stairway, just as the doorbell rang. Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley began screaming.

"I TOLD everyone not to ring the doorbell!"

"BLOOD TRAITORS, FILTH, MUDBLOODS-"

"REMUS WILL YOU GET THE DOOR?"

"SCUM, ABOMINATION OF MY FLESH-" Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried to shut the curtains as Lupin opened the locks on the door. Just as the curtains closed and Mrs. Black's shrieks ceased, the door wenched open, revealing a very pretty woman, about Lupin's age, with long, curly, blonde hair in a low ponytail and two very big, luminous blue eyes. She was dressed in long, worn, deep blue robes, and she smiled to see Lupin.

"Remus," she whispered. Lupin looked as if he were about to faint. All of the blood left his face, making him even more pale. His eyes widened.

"Evelyn?" he whispered in shock and awe. "But you're- you're- dead…"