He was there, standing and laughing with his cold eyes glowing maliciously in the dark. All was black save for the figure and what appeared to be a shining white archway. There were noises, voices calling from within the arch, calling out to him, screaming in terror, crying in pain. The figure with the red eyes was still laughing at the pleas from within. He would not help them, he had sent most of them there, but he would listen to their pathetic cries. One voice in particular stood out, yelling hoarsely in fright, but the figure merely laughed away, amused by the one voice. He took a step towards the archway and then was walking down the corridors of an old, stone castle. There were other people there, but he recognized only one of them, a pale boy with blonde hair and a pointed face who was trying to steal his Firebolt from him. He glared at the pale boy and straightened his Quidditch robes as he headed out into dark Quidditch pitch. He mounted his Firebolt and zoomed around the stadium, searching for the Snitch, but it was impossible to see in the dark so he gave up and landed again, muttering in frustration. If only Fawkes had been there to help him, then he would have been able to win the match for their team. The other players soared high above still passing the Quaffle around, but he shrugged and moved on and into the Forest where a large black dog was waiting for him. "Sirius," he said, "I don't think we're going to win the cup this time, I can't find the Snitch."

"Look in here," the dog replied and he pointed his nose towards and object that was sitting in and open clearing. "The mirror of Erised might be able to tell you where it is."

He nodded and looked into the mirror, but all he saw was his own reflection with his shining red eyes staring right back at him. But then the reflection started to move on its own accord, pointing at the scar on his forehead, which started to burn furiously. The reflection laughed as he writhed in pain and-

Yelping, Harry jolted awake, clutching at his scar. It took a moment for him to realize where he was and he shook his head, sighing. Every night he seemed to be having stranger and stranger dreams that always seemed to end with Voldemort pointing at his scar and laughing evilly, and he always woke with the same pain that emitted from the lightning bolt on his head. He tried to remember what else had happened in his dream, in case there was any relevance to, well, anything, but the images were fading quickly from his memory, so he shrugged it off. If there'd been anything important he would have remembered it.

Glancing over at the clock on his bedside table, Harry groaned. It was only 6:00am, and he knew he would never be able to get back to sleep. At least this meant that the Dursely's would all still be asleep for quite some time, so he had free reign of the house. He dressed and went quietly downstairs to make some breakfast for himself.

As the sun rose Harry thought back on the dream he'd had, trying to remember it, but he could only recall vague fragments, mostly containing a big black dog and a red eyed figure. Those seemed to be the only things he dreamt about lately, Sirius and Voldemort. It was no wonder why, of course, considering the events that had taken place nearly a month ago, that he would dream so frequently of those two. It rankled Harry, though that Voldemort wouldn't stay out of his dreams, and he wished he would clear off, leaving his night time adventures with only Sirius. But wherever his godfather's memory was, so was that off the Voldemort, constantly plaguing him like an annoying, incredibly evil gnat. At least he still had those fun memories of Sirius, even if they were haunted with his enemy. And while thinking back on them didn't give Harry the sharp overwhelming pain and feeling of despair it used to, he still missed Sirius fiercely and the thought of him still made his throat close and eyes fill with tears.

It wasn't until he noticed the wet spots on his plate that Harry realized he was crying and he brushed away the tears with annoyance, glad the Dursleys weren't around to see him. Not that they would have teased him with the threat from the members of the Order of the Phoenix looming over them, but it still would have bothered Harry for them to see.

He was just cleaning up his dishes when there was a sharp tapping at the kitchen window, and Harry looked up to see Hedwig with the post waiting patiently for him to let her in. "Morning Hedwig," he said, sliding the window open and taking a roll up paper and two letters from the owl. Before anything else he unrolled the Daily Prophet and scanned through headlines, sighing in relief once he'd finished. Nothing in the Prophet gave any indication that Voldemort had made any crucial moves yet, although, as always, there were many articles about him and his followers. Harry didn't bother to read these as they were usually repeats of the same information that he didn't care to ingest again. Instead he opened the first of his two letters. It was from his best friend, Ron Weasley who told about some exciting plans for the summer and kept Harry up to speed on the happening at the Burrow. Ron wrote frequently, as did Hermione Granger, always with cheerful news, and Harry suspected it was to keep his mind off of Sirius. As if they could, but the thought made him very glad he had good friends like them.

The second letter bore a Hogwarts seal and Harry opened with a bit of confusion, wondering why Hogwarts would be sending him mail so soon into the holidays. A small bag fell from the envelope as he pulled out the piece of parchment, and he examined it briefly before reading the letter.

Dear Harry,

I hope your summer is going well, so far, and I'm glad to hear that you're keeping in touch with the Order. Everyone with always pleased to hear from you.

I have some business I wish to discuss with you if you don't mind, and would like for you to come to Hogwarts some time next week. I've enclosed enough Floo powder for you to get here and had your fireplace temporarily hooked up to the Floo network. Just say, 'Hogwarts, Dumbledore's office' to get here. Please send me an owl telling me when you can make it.

Thank you and sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore.

Harry read through the letter twice, as baffled as ever. Why in the world would Dumbledore want to see him? Regardless of he confusion he wrote a reply saying he could be there next Tuesday when the Dursleys were taking a trip to London and sent it with Hedwig who nipped his finger affectionately before taking off through the kitchen window.

A thudding from upstairs told him someone was awake and he, not wanting to see any of the Dursleys at all at that moment, hastily went out the front door and strode down the sidewalk. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he enjoyed just being outside of the house and walking about the streets. He hadn't gotten far when he was startled by a voice calling out to him.

"Harry Potter?" Frowning Harry turned towards the voice and his eyes fell on a girl about his own age that looked vaguely familiar. "Oh it is you!" She said with quite a bit of excitement and crossed the road to him, her shoulder length brown hair glinting in the sunlight. Before anything else he recognized a Hogwarts crest sewn to her jean jacket and he couldn't help bun grin broadly at the surprise of seeing someone from his school. "I don't think you know me, I'm Tegan Vakt, Gryffindor fifth year."

"Nice to meet you, I think I've seen you around school once or twice," Harry replied, shaking the girl's hand. "But I haven't seen you around here before, do you leave nearby?"

Tegan shook her head. "No I'm visiting my aunt and uncle for the summer. They live just down the road over there," she said, pointing to the end of the street. "And no they're Muggles, but very supportive ones," she said, answering the question Harry was about to ask. "The know quite a lot about the Wizarding world, and I think they wish they had some magic in them too."

Harry grinned. "That's good then. It must be nice to have and aunt and uncle that understand."

"It is," Tegan said in a sort of sympathetic way. "I've head about the Muggles that you live with. Must be awful. But at least it's only for the summer right?"

Harry nodded, casting a sour look back towards his the Dursley's house.

"But hey, I know what would cheer you up!" Tegan said brightly. Harry gave her a curious look and she smiled, her eyes twinkling. "If you don't have anywhere to be today, I've got something I want to show you. Might make the summer a bit more bearable."

With great relief Harry shook his head. "Nope, I'm all free."

"Excellent, c'mon then. It's a bit of a walk, but at least we've got an early start." Three quarters of an hour later saw the two at the edge of town and picking their way through a field of cows who completely ignored their presence. The day had started warming up already, signalling that it would be very hot later, and Harry was glad they'd left so early as to avoid the summer heat. The two kept up idle chatter about school, and Harry found out she was very strong in Defence Against the Dark Arts, just like him, and amazingly enough was a fantastic potion maker, even with Professor Snape teaching. He was glad to find that her success in his class annoyed Snape to no end. They spent a good while picking apart the Potions Master and calling him every horrible name they could think of, an activity that cheered Harry up a good deal.

At the other end of field that they were venturing across, casually sidestepping cow dropping and gopher holes, was a set of very run down looking farm buildings. As they got close Harry wondered how the buildings were standing at all, with the terrible shape they were in. There was little paint to speak of left on any of the buildings, the wood was rotting and with all the holes in them it looked as if they were about to collapse in second. So much that Harry was hesitant to enter with largest of the buildings when Tegan motioned for him to follow her in, but she seemed to know what she was doing, so he walked through the doorway. The second he stepped in though he was pleasantly surprised: the interior was nothing at all like the outside of the old barn. Hundreds of candles illuminated a cheery looking reception area where a crowd of people milled about. Paintings and posters of famous Quidditch players lined the walls, as did banners for various favoured teams, and after seeing these did Harry realize that most of the people in the room were dressed in Quidditch robes and carrying broomsticks of varying models. Jaw dropping his eyes fell on a sign that hung above a check-in desk that read:

Quidditch Recreation Centre



Admission Prices:

Youth (11-16): 4 Galleons

Adult (over 17): 6 Galleons

Senior (old): 3 Galleons

Season Pass: 15 Galleons

Children under 11 get in free!



Rentals:

Broomsticks (Normal Standard): 5 Galleons

Broomsticks (International Standard): 10 Galleons

Quidditch Balls and Bludgers Bats: 8 Galleons

Armour: 7 Galleons for all or 2 Galleons individually

(Elbow pads, knee pads, wrist guards, training robes)

Note: All rentals require a 10 Galleon deposit that will be reimbursed with all equipment safely returned.

Group and private lessons are available, ask the front desk for information.

Harry could hardly believe his eyes! A training facility for Quidditch right near his own home! A great smile split his face in two and he turned to Tegan who was watching him, waiting for a reaction and also grinning like a fool.

"You like it?"

Harry wanted to hug her. "Of course I do! I've never been able to practice Quidditch over the summer, but this…" he was at a loss for words.

"Well, time's wasting, let's get checked in," Tegan said, hauling him towards the counter.

Harry suddenly felt his heart sink in disappointment. "I don't have any money with me," he said bitterly.

"Oh it's alright, I can lend you some for now, if you like. It'd be a waste to have walked an hour here and not get to go in." And before Harry could protest she'd bought him a day pass and rentals for the day. She handed him his rental ticket, as well as a set of training robes, and shrugged in apology. "Sorry, the highest they've got in stock is the Nimbus 2001. I know it's nothing compared to your Firebolt, but it should do for today anyway."

Harry stammered a thanks and accepted the ticket gratefully. "What about you? You're not going in?" He asked noticing that she hadn't gotten a pass nor rentals.

"Don't be silly!" Tegan pulled out a shining silver card with her information stamped into it and a smiling picture of herself who waved cheerfully at him. "I've got a season pass and my gear's downstairs in my locker." She tucked her card away again and lead him down a set of very long stairs that lead to the change rooms, at which point she pointed him to the gentlemen's room and said she'd meet him back outside in a few minutes. Harry found an empty locker to store his things (they cost a knut to lock, but Harry wasn't worried about anyone stealing his handed down clothes, anyway) and changed into the grey robes he'd received at the desk. That done he shoved his clothes into the locker and made his way back outside where Tegan was already waiting for him.

"Ready? Let's go get you're broom then," she said leading him down one of the many corridors that branched out from the training rooms. There were signs nailed to the walls pointing in different directions and saying things like: weight room, restaurant, and gift shop. They reached another desk where Harry gave his ticket to the witch there and she handed him a Nimbus 2001 and both of them a neon green bracelet.

"The broom is to be back by five and this bracelet will give you access to all the equipment inside," she told him and they set off down a corridor labelled 'Arenas'. At the end of a the busy hallway was a set of beautifully carved oak doors depicting a Quidditch match and decorated with ivy and Snitches. Tegan pulled open the heavy doors and Harry was met with the most amazing sight he'd seen in a some time.

The cavern they entered was so immense that Harry felt like a small animal on a football field. It was divided into several separate arenas, each as different and exciting as the next. To his left was an area caged off with chain link fence from floor to ceiling and Beaters soared around inside attacking Bludgers, aiming them at varied targets. On the right was an octagonal area for Chasers with goalposts erected on each side and obstacles throughout for the Chasers to dodge. There were also Keepers in this arena taking turns guarding the goalposts. They walked past an open field with simulated grass where a group of small children were hovering just above the ground on broomsticks and listening intently to the instructions of a wizard with 'Coach' written on the back of his white robes.

"Here's where you want to be Harry," Tegan said, pointing to three entrances to what looked like mazes from where he could see, each labelled with 'Beginner', 'Intermediate', and 'Expert'. Fascinated, Harry watched as one of the staff wizards let a Snitch go into the beginner's entrance and a few seconds later signalled for a young boy to give chase, who promptly zoomed after the golden ball. On the side of each opening was a map engraved into the wall of the course that showed the progress of both the Snitch and the boy. Right near the end the boy caught it and the roof of the maze opened up to let him out, while Harry could hear the walls inside moving around to change the course.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Harry could only beam at Tegan, the excitement very apparent on his face. "Go on and give it a go. I'm going over to the Keeper's training area, so I'll come find you later, okay?" Nodding Harry waved a bit to Tegan and she headed off and disappeared into the crowd, then went to stand in line for the intermediate course.

The wait was a short one as it wasn't too terribly busy yet, and he could feel his heart pounding with anticipation as he neared the front of the line. He was actually going to fly on summer holidays!

The staff wizard checked his bracelet and nodded for him to mount his broom. Harry did so, and the wizard released the Snitch, then waited briefly before giving Harry the go-ahead. It was training unlike anything Harry had ever experienced. He sped after the Snitch through a tunnel that weaved left, right, and too his surprise way down and up. Sometimes there would be shallow inclines, and then turns that went at 90 degree angles, sometimes even doubling back on themselves. There was the occasional wide open space that the Snitch would flutter around in then take off through another opening. Harry finally caught up with the Snitch about halfway through the course and snatched it before it took off straight down in a steep dive. A buzzer went off and the roof opened up for him and Harry flew up out the top, depositing the Snitch in a floating bin that flew up to him once he was in open air again, then went into line again.

And so his day was spent, trying out the many different courses and Seeker training exercises. Once he met up with Tegan again he tried the activities for Chasers, Beaters and Keepers, failing miserably at all but the later (he did alright at Keeping, having pretty fast reflexes), but having a great time at trying them out. At ten to five they headed out, Harry returning his broom, and went to shower and change. The grabbed a quick bite to eat before leaving the facility and making the trek home. The sun was starting to sink in the sky by the time they reached Privet Drive, and Harry was exhausted, but very happy. He walked Tegan to her doorstep, thanking her profusely for showing him the Rec. Centre, and they made plans to meet early the next morning to go back.

Once back at his house Harry ignored the Dursleys' queries as to where he'd been all day and went straight to his room to write to Ron to tell him about the day. Hedwig was not back yet and he would have to wait to send until she returned, so Harry folded the letter and tucked it away in the top drawer of his desk. It was only just after nine, but Harry was so tired that he went to bed anyway, falling asleep to thoughts of the next day.