Title: Harry Potter and the Year of Realizations

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts wasn't the best. Will his sixth be any better? He thinks it might be, but what's going on with Hermione, and what about these confusing feelings he has? A story with angst, drama, mystery, and of course, romance.

Disclaimer: I...don't...own...Harry. THERE I SAID IT! What do you want from me?

This chapter is much shorter and I'm sorry, but I promise to have another, longer chapter up by Sunday/Monday night/morning. And Linzay, I'm going to send you a 'cookie' for that chapter as I don't think that you're online right now and there is really no point.

3 Michelle 3

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Awakenings

PREVIOUSLY:

Harry woke up and rubbed his eyes. His hands felt for his glasses and he slipped them on. He glanced around himself and started gathering up the papers that were scattered about. He picked up his two books and his guitar with pride. Who wouldn't? How many people learn how to play guitar in one night? He carried them down the stairs careful in trying not to wake Sirius. He set everything down and grabbed the papers and hid them down in the bottom with his invisibility cloak.

He heard someone move behind him and spun around. Sirius smiled down on him. "Can we go for a little walk?" He asked checking his pocket again. Harry nodded and grabbed his robes and draped them over himself. They made their way out to the grounds. "Harry? When I was...gone. I saw your mother. She asked me to give this to you. I'm not sure exactly what it does, but it seems to have special powers. Here." His hand dug deep into his pocket and he produced a small leather case.

Sirius handed the case to Harry, who took it with curiosity. What would his mother want him to have? He wondered about this as he sat down on couch behind him and Sirius across from him on the chair. Harry stared at the case for what seemed like eternity before he snapped back to reality. "Harry, open it." Sirius urged. "Why are you so curious, don't you know what it is?" Harry asked, still looking at the case. "Well, actually, I don't." Sirius said truthfully. Harry opened the case slowly and found himself staring at the most beautiful ring he'd ever seen.

It was white gold intertwined with gold with one big, but not too big, emerald nestled in between the golds in the middle. It also had two diamonds on either side of the emerald that were about half the size of it. Harry marveled at it, but wondered what kind of powers a ring could possibly have, and why his mom would want him to have it. He looked up at Sirius who was smiling broadly. "That was your mothers' wedding ring." He said, as he looked at it. Harry smiled and closed the case. "I think I'll ask Dumbledore about it next Monday. I don't want to lose it." Harry said, walking towards his trunk.

Hermione woke up a few hours later to the sound of crowd of people walking by the lobby. She got up slowly and looked around the room for a clock. Not seeing one she decided she should go see her mom. She got up slowly and made her way down the hall and to room 394. She stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. She turned the handle and stepped into the room to find her father in his bed and her mother sleeping on the other side of the room. She felt bad about what happened and decided to not wake her up until later. She glanced at the clock on the table and saw that it was only 8:15 and headed for the cafeteria.

Ginny giggled as she held out her hand for Draco. He took it, looking slightly embarrassed. "Sorry." Ginny said as Draco stood up. "It's okay, don't worry about it." He said, brushing himself off. "What were you doing out here anyway?" She asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Oh, I was just coming in to see you." He said smoothly. Ginny rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "Hungry?" She asked. Draco nodded and they headed down for the great hall.

Ron walked down the stairs to the great hall and headed for Luna. She looked worried about something and Ron was sure that something was him. Mostly because she only looked worried after she'd seen him. He uneasily sat down beside her. "Hello." Ron said nervously. Luna turned to face him, a smile quickly covering her face. "Hello, Ronald." She said, catching his gaze. Ron blinked a few times before he opened his mouth again. "You can call me Ron, just Ron." Luna smiled at him. "I thought only your friends called you Ron." She said slowly. "Well, you're my friend, right?" He asked with a grin. "Always." She said shyly. She looked as if she could've kissed him and might have if Snape hadn't just walked into the great hall.

Sirius had gone to take a shower and get some breakfast, but Harry honestly wasn't hungry. He wasn't used to Hermione being gone this long. Since a couple weeks ago she'd been around all the time. Harry wasn't complaining. He loved it. He was a little bit mad at himself for agreeing to be just friends again. He was even more hurt about the fact Hermione was the one who'd suggested it in the first place. He shook his head and walked over to the table. His journal was lying on it. He picked it up slowly. Examining the glow that surrounded it. He picked up a quill and sat down on the couch. He opened the journal, seeing the schedule page said 'no classes'. He smiled. He turned to the next page and began to write.

When Hermione finally reached the cafeteria door she'd asked directions three separate times. She marveled at the fact that she didn't get lost at Hogwarts, but managed to get lost three times at a simple muggle hospital. She walked into the cafeteria and grabbed a couple of bagels. She paid for them and walked back out the door. After asking directions back up to the room twice already she turned another corner and found herself in very unfamiliar, yet intriguingly...magical place.

Ginny was becoming increasingly nervous as Draco and herself got closer and closer to the entrance to the great hall. What will he do, he won't want to be seen with a Weasley. Especially by all his slytheran friends... Ginny knew that inside Draco wasn't like that... but she couldn't help but worry. She bit her lip and looked up at Draco. He looked a little paler than usual, but he didn't look nervous. Draco paused for a millisecond before letting himself take the last step before appearing in the great hall entrance. He took a deep breath, as did Ginny, before stepping into the entrance of the great hall.

Snape strode into the great hall. He sat at the teachers table and looked closely at Ron. Ron and Luna were in deep conversation about the first Hogsmead weekend together and what they were going to do. Luna looked up and saw Snape staring down at them. She nudged Ron in the side. He looked up at her with a confused look on his face. "Snape is looking at you." She whispered. "So? I'm sure he looks at everyone..." Luna rolled her eyes. "No, I think he's saying an incantation." She said urgently. "What?!" Ron said as he spun around in his seat. Before anyone could notice anything... odd, Luna grabbed his arm. "Ron! No, he'll see you." Ron got up, silently urging Luna to do the same. Luna nodded and let on an unspoken agreement to leave in different directions.

Harry put down his journal a little more confused than when he began writing. He quickly got up and put the journal in the bottom of his trunk with his invisibility cloak and his songs. He sat down on his bed and ran a hand through his messy hair. He missed Hermione...badly. He also had an unnerving feeling in the pit of his stomach that she was in trouble. He rubbed his temples and lay down on his bed, falling asleep in a matter of minutes.

Hermione looked around with caution when she felt a presence behind her.

&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%

Hermiones' eyes fluttered open and she looked around wildly. Where am I? Hermione thought, rubbing the back of her head. She looked around some more but all she saw were four stone walls surrounding her. She grabbed for her wand and panicked when she found it wasn't there. She pounded at the wall, defeated. She closed her eyes and sank down to the floor. Harry?! She thought, tears streaming down her face as she passed out on the hard, cold, concrete floor.

Ginnys' eyes widened as the whole great hall looked up at her and Draco. Some were whispering loudly and some were looking at Draco as if he were crazy (the slytherans). Some were just staring, jaws hanging. Draco seemed to be ignoring absolutely everyone as they walked down the stairs into the great hall. To Ginnys' surprise he walked them right past the slytheran table and to the gryffindor table. He sat down, not making eye contact with anyone. Ginny smiled at Dean and Seamus who were staring at her like she was absolutely mental. She shrugged at them and started eating. Draco was staring at his food, his eyes wide as he realized what he'd just done.

Luna and Ron hadn't noticed Ginny and Draco, but apparently Snape had and was staring at them his mouth hanging open. Ron and Luna took this as an opportunity to escape as they walked quickly out of the great hall in opposite directions. Ron rounded the corner and felt someone pull him into a closet. "Hey!" He yelped as the door shut in his face. "shhh!" A voice urged him. Ron recognized it immediately as the usually dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood. "What are you doing?! How did you...you were just.." Ron whispered loudly in an obviously confused voice. "Well, don't you want to know what Snape was doing?" She asked, confused. "Well, I guess..."

Harry woke up later that afternoon to a slight tingling sensation in his forehead. He rubbed at it for a while, but only succeeded at making it redder. He looked around the room and decided to try and finish some of his homework ((A/N they're not 'home' so why the hell is it called 'home'work!?!?)) to take his mind off of it. He sat down and hadn't ever finished reading what the assignment was, let alone even starting it, without thinking about a dream he'd had. Was it a dream? It almost seemed like reality, only he was looking at it from somewhere else, like he was watching someone elses' dilemma. He ran a hand through his hair, desperately trying to remember what had happened.

Hermione was in a half sleep when she heard two people talking. She opened her eyes to see the same four walls as before. She looked up to see that the wall went up 16' up and there was about a 3" gap between it and the ceiling. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the voices she was hearing. "Yes, sir, of course." Said a low voice. "Yes, very well, but if you fail me, you'll endure tortures you can't even begin to imagine." A voice that'd make you cringe said in a low, raspy voice. "Potter will not be so lucky this time..." Hermione gasped. It couldn't be...

Ginny leaned over and whispered in Dracos' ear when they were in the common room and all the gryffindors were walking by. "It's okay, don't worry about it." She said reassuringly. He smiled at her, which was odd, because he usually just smirked. There was a side to Draco that not very many people knew. Surly she didn't even know the half of it, but she sure would love to be able to try. He really was sweet when he wanted to be and...and was...was he blushing? He was. Awww.

Luna had already come up with a plan. Ron always knew that Snape was with you-know who, he just needed to prove it to everyone else. Luna and him had waited for about two hours in the closet coming up with a plan, and...other things. They were going to sneak into Snapes' room during dinner and scrounge for clues that Snape was up to something. Why Dumbledore trusted him, he didn't know, but Ron was going to give Dumbledore a reason to sack his ass.

Harry had been trying to remember what had happened in his dream. So far he'd figured out that there seemed to be some sort of cell. He heard voices and someone say 'Potter' in a low raspy voice. He suddenly felt a surge of pain in his forehead and collapsed onto the bed.

Sirius had finished looking around the building and headed back to the head dormitories. He walked through the portrait hole and saw Harry lying on the bed withering around wildly. He ran to him. "HARRY!" Sirius yelled shaking him. He saw Harrys' wand on the floor and picked it up. He yelled 'enervate!' but nothing happened. "HARRY!" Sirius yelled again, but again, no avail. Harry stopped shaking after about 10 minutes and looked like he was asleep. Sirius let him sleep and decided to go see Dumbledore about a few things.

!!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! POLL ALERT !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!!

Thanks for your reviews:

Thanks to the few people that actually reviewed that chapter. I deserved it... I'm sorry, this didn't take as long, but I've been busy and just tired lately. I hope you'll review this time! And good job, Linzay, for guessing what was in the case...

3 Michelle 3