Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's stuff. (You know, it gets boring writing these after a while)
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Chapter 8 – Ready?
The next morning Harry's eyes opened suddenly, as if he had just been shocked out of his sleep. He blinked a few times and fumbled for his glasses. As his fingers closed over them, Mrs. Weasley's voice rang up the stairs.
"Harry, Ron, Ginny, UP!"
Ron rolled over with a groan beside him. Harry sat up and let a good night's sleep fill him with energy as he got up and got dressed in his Hogwarts robes.
"Wake up, Weasley!" he ordered Ron, throwing a Chocolate Frog he spied in a corner at his head.
"Okay, okay, I'm getting up," Ron mumbled. And he did, but very slowly.
After a few minutes had passed and Ron was still sitting on the edge of his bed blinking sleepily, Harry lost patience.
"Meet you downstairs!" he called over his shoulder as he dragged his things downstairs.
"Morning, Harry," Lupin greeted, "Put your stuff over here."
Harry glanced at a pile of trunks, along with a basket containing Crookshanks and Esperanza's empty cage, which lay by the door, and added his things to the equation. Hedwig was still sleeping when he set her on top of his trunk. He glanced upwards to see Lupin staring at him.
"Come, Harry," Lupin invited.
Harry followed him, wishing that he didn't have to say goodbye. As he passed the living room, he glimpsed Silver and Hermione sitting in it, dressed in their Hogwarts robes. Lupin led him into the kitchen, which was completely deserted, and turned to him.
"Afraid we'll have to say goodbye, Harry."
Harry felt a lump in his throat that he hadn't expected to be there. Lupin was going to be lonely, he knew. As lonely as Sirius had been, staying in this house by himself... Don't get worked up over Sirius now, he told himself, or Lupin. But he unwillingly felt his throat tightening.
"Yeah," he croaked in response.
"Harry," Lupin said quietly.
Harry glanced upwards and met Lupin's eye. Lupin was staring at him with a kind of fierce pride that Harry had often felt proud of seeing in Sirius' eyes. Harry was surprised at the fact that he felt just as happy upon seeing it from Lupin. He allowed Lupin to step forward and hug him, and he hugged him back fiercely. In a way, hugging Lupin felt as if he were also hugging Sirius and his father. Lupin released him and held him at arm's length for a moment.
"You are truly your father's son, Harry," he said. Harry had heard it before, but he never appreciated it so much until then.
"Thanks," he replied.
Lupin put his arm around his shoulder as they began to walk back toward the living room.
"If you ever need me, Harry, anytime, just let me know and I'll be there," he promised, "Unless it's a full moon, of course. And I can be at all your Hogsmeade weekends."
Harry smiled, and felt a wave of relief wash over him. He knew that he could actually ask Lupin to come and be with him, seeing as he wasn't on the run from the law.
"Alright," he agreed as they entered the living room.
The scene was strangely peaceful. Snape was sitting in an armchair in the corner, and glanced up briefly as they entered, but then returned his attention to the book in his lap. Silver and Hermione were chatting on a couch against the right wall, and Dumbledore was standing by the fireplace directly to their left, seemingly waiting to greet them. Tonks and Moody stood talking quietly in the left corner, and Mr. Weasley was talking to Kingsley on the couch against the far wall. Lupin squeezed his shoulder and walked towards Dumbledore.
Silver looked up at him and positively beamed. He could see excitement along with apprehension in her eyes. Hermione looked up as well, and smiled at him, too. He grinned back at them both as he walked over.
"Excited?" he asked Silver. She nodded earnestly.
"I was just telling her about the classes," Hermione said in an explanatory tone. Then, she turned to Silver and returned to their conversation.
"Right," she said, in the bossy tone she used so often, "So, you see, Arithmacy is a much more worthwhile subject than Divination. You should drop it and transfer."
Silver looked up at Harry for help.
"How about," Harry suggested, "She starts out with divination, and if the crystal ball tells her to switch to Arithmacy, she does?"
Hermione looked up at him with a trace of annoyance, but Silver smiled. Harry glanced over at Snape and could've sworn he saw a grin, but it disappeared as soon as he focused.
"I'm really horrible with numbers, though," Silver was saying to a disappointed Hermione.
Suddenly the doors opened and trays of muffins and milk glasses came through. Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny arrived instantly.
"Breakfast," Ron mumbled sleepily as he took a huge bite of his blueberry muffin.
Harry bravely bit into his cranberry muffin, to discover that it was quite good. Suddenly, he spied Silver's. "Hey, what's yours?" he asked.
She grinned. "Chocolate chip," she answered.
"Oclate ip?!" Ron exclaimed through a mouthful, "air?"
Harry looked at the tray to see that there were definitely no more chocolate chip muffins, but when they insisted on knowing where she got it, she would only smile mysteriously.
"Riddle my foot," Ron muttered under his breath as he searched the room for a sign of chocolate chips.
Silver heard him, however, and as she took another bite she said, "Mmmm," in a very tantalizing way.
Ron scowled and kept quiet.
After everyone had eaten, Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat. Everyone quieted respectfully.
"Myself, Severus, and Minerva will be leaving for Hogwarts shortly - we will not be taking the train," he announced, "Children, you will all take the Knight Bus to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and we will see you there. Silver, you need not go with the first years when you first arrive at Hogwarts, just follow my instructions when you arrive in the Great Hall."
Silver nodded, and Dumbledore gave her a small bow.
"I believe any goodbyes anybody needs to make should be made at this time," Dumbledore instructed.
As if on cue, everyone stood up. Silver went straight over to Snape and threw her arms around him. He looked slightly disgruntled, but put his arms around her anyway.
She looked up at him mournfully, "Bye," she said.
"Nonsense," he replied, "You'll be seeing me at the castle in a matter of hours."
"I know," she said, sweetly laying her head against him, "But I'll miss you."
"Well, there's certainly no need to," he said practically.
"Is too," she replied stubbornly.
He looked as if he were going to argue with her, but decided against it. He touched her hair awkwardly, and looked relieved when she released him. Silver also hugged Mr. Weasley, Kingsley, Lupin, and Dumbledore goodbye. Mrs. Weasley made as if to hug her, but she looked completely terrified and backed into Snape's arms ("She's a bit...sensitive...to women..." he explained awkwardly.) so Mrs. Weasley had to settle for taking one of her hands in both of hers and wishing her a good school year ("the dear!"). Harry said goodbye to everybody in the room (including a sullen "See you soon" to Snape), and then allowed Lupin to embrace him once more before gathering his things.
As they all walked out to the curb, escorted by Lupin, Esperanza rattled his cage excitedly.
"Oh, trust me," Silver told him, "You'll get plenty of exercise just keeping your balance on this trip."
The owl hooted in what Harry thought was an excited manner.
"Well," Lupin said, "You guys should summon your bus."
Silver raised her wand immediately, and momentarily the purple knight bus was in front of them.
"Bye!" they all called to Lupin as they boarded.
Stan attempted to take ahold of Silver's hand as they boarded, but he quickly released her when Harry held his wand up to his throat and threatened to perform every hex he knew.
"Let's go to the top floor," Silver said adventurously.
"Yeah, just what we need," Ron said, "To be tossed around at a dangerous height."
Silver giggled as she led the way up the stairs. The top floor was a bit smaller than the previous, but they fit in with room to spare. Silver stuck Esperanza's cage to the wall with a Sticking Charm, but before she sat back down the bus started. Harry caught her, although he had no idea how, and quickly pulled her beside him. This time he started out with his arm around her waist, and she didn't seem to mind in the least. On the contrary, she gave him a content smile while the bus was going straight. As they turned a particularly nasty corner, Esperanza gave an unpleasant screech.
"Guess that's why they call them screech owls," Ron commented.
Silver reached up and quickly unlatched the cage and withdrew Esperanza from it.
"Poor baby," she said, cuddling the contented owl.
Harry eyed it a bit suspiciously. It looked up at him innocently. He raised an eyebrow at it, and it turned away.
After a few more unpleasant turns and stops, they heard the call from below, "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!"
They hurried down with all their things (Esperanza, Hedwig, and Pig making a racket as they did so), and stepped off to see the beautiful scarlet train standing in front of them.
"Ooh, it's so pretty," Silver said delightedly.
Harry grinned. It was so much easier to appreciate things when Silver was there appreciating them with him. After depositing all their luggage on the train, they went in to find a compartment.
"Um, Harry," Hermione said tentatively, "Ron and I, since we're prefects..."
"Go ahead," Harry replied. Then a thought struck him. "Hey – we never got our O.W.L. results!"
Hermione looked shocked for a second, and then she shot a furious glance at Ron.
"Ron, you didn't give it to him!"
Ron blushed. "Oh yeah," he muttered, "Dont' know why Dumbledore gave it to me..."
They went back to where they deposited their luggage, searched through until they found Ron's trunk, and then waited a good five minutes until he found an envelope with the Hogwarts crest.
"Here you go, Harry," he panted as they ran back to board the train, "Sorry bout that, mate!"
"There probably aren't any empty compartments left," Harry grumbled halfheartedly as Ron and Hermione departed.
"Guys?" Ginny asked with extra sweetness in her voice, "I'm going to go sit with Dean, okay?"
Harry briefly remembered Ginny's boyfriend. He wondered if they had written over the summer. Glancing at Silver's face, he could tell she could fill him in later.
"Sure," he replied as Silver beamed Ginny off.
They walked through the train, Harry peeking into compartments that looked empty from the window. They got to the end, and Harry looked into what seemed like the last empty one. He shut it immediately.
"Dratted Loony Lovegood," he muttered. He didn't mind Luna so much ordinarily, but he had been thinking of sitting in a more – romantic – setting with Silver. Definitely not with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom.
"Loony?" Silver echoed curiously, "Oh, Luna, right?"
Harry looked at her in surprise.
"Hermione was telling me about people I would probably meet," she explained.
"Oh," Harry said blankly, wondering why he himself hadn't thought of that, "Well, do you mind sitting with her? Neville's in there, too, and he's not that bad."
"I don't mind at all," she replied, smiling.
Shrugging, Harry opened the compartment door once more. It was much the same scene as when he had last seen Luna on the Hogwarts Express. She was sitting serenely, reading the Quibbler upside down and acting very interested in whatever it was. Neville looked up at Harry like he had just saved his life, but when he saw Silver, his mouth dropped open and simply hung like that. Harry wondered if that was how he had looked when Snape had asked him if he was trying to catch flies with his mouth. Harry attempted to give Neville a pointed look that obviously said that he and Silver wanted to sit together, but Neville just gaped from Harry to Silver. Sighing, Harry sat beside the lovestruck Neville and gave Silver a look of encouragement.
"Um, excuse me," Silver began hesitantly. Luna looked up at her with those permanently shocked eyes of hers. "Would you mind scooting over a bit?" Silver gave her what Harry thought was an exceptionally sweet smile. Neville came very close to drooling.
"Certainly," Luna replied in an otherworldly voice. She continued to look at Silver with her lamplike eyes until she had successfully caught Silver's attention.
"Who are you?" Luna asked, as if this were something Silver should have told her immediately.
"My name is Silver," Silver replied, then, with a glance at a very encouraging Harry, "Silver Riddle."
Neville's mouth snapped shut. He scooted backwards with a look of horror that made Harry try horribly hard not to laugh.
"Luna Lovegood," Luna replied, sticking out her hand to shake.
Harry supposed she had read some article about Voldemort really being a teen pop singer.
"Are you..." Neville stuttered, "Is she...is she...v...vol...vold..."
"No, Neville, she's not," Harry broke in, "So just calm down."
Neville did, but looked Silver up and down very suspiciously as he cautiously scooted back over. Silver gave him a very nonthreatening smile that succeeded in making his mouth drop open once more. Harry decided to ignore Neville and Luna and talk with Silver, and he did. He told her all about all of their classes. When he got to Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class, she looked terrified and excited at the same time.
"I hope he brings in a unicorn," she sighed wistfully, "They're really very loyal once you have their trust."
At this Luna peered pointedly over the bottom of the Quibbler and Neville tried desperately to remember what Silver had just said.
"She can talk to animals," Harry informed them, before proceeding to tell her about Transfiguration. Suddenly he heard a familiar laugh headed their direction.
"Neville, switch seats with Silver," he directed.
"Why?" Neville asked suspiciously.
"Now," Harry replied.
Neville and Silver obeyed.
"What is it, Harry?" Silver asked.
Harry ignored her and pulled out his wand, silently practicing every hex he knew. Luna put down her magazine and looked about to say something when the door to their compartment slid open. Draco smirked as his eyes passed over first Harry, then Neville and Luna, but when they got to Silver, he did a double-take.
"So it's true," he said, stepping in enough to let Harry catch a glimpse of Crabbe and Goyle behind him.
Harry stood up. If he laid so much as one finger on her...
Draco peered over Harry's shoulder, giving Silver a sickening smile and looking at her in a way Harry was certain he didn't like.
"Hey," he said warmly.
Silver looked pointedly ahead. Harry was one step away from shouting out every hex he had ever heard of.
"Potter, do me a favor and move," Draco instructed, trying not to tear his eyes off of Silver.
"Shove off or you'll regret it," Harry replied. He was deadly serious, and he was prepared. Draco seemed to sense that. He surveyed Harry with growing amusement.
"Got a girlfriend, Potter?" he smirked.
"Get lost before I hex you good," Harry answered. His wand was trembling to hold in all the hexes that were currently running through Harry's mind. Draco looked from Harry's threatening wand to his face, to Silver.
"See you later," he told Silver in a voice that Harry didn't like one bit.
"Petrificus..." he began. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle broke into a run.
"Thanks," she said.
He grinned at her. "Anytime," he replied. As long as you look at me like that, he added silently in his head.
"Open your O.W.L.s," she suggested suddenly.
"You haven't gotten yours yet?" Neville asked incredulously.
"Well, I was supposed to, but Ron forgot to give it to me," Harry explained.
He opened his and looked half with dread, half with curiosity, at the contents. They were listed from best to worst.
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding
Charms: Outstanding
History of Magic: Excellent – I knew I got that goblin question wrong, he thought.
Transfiguration: Excellent
Divination: Excellent
Potions: Acceptable – acceptable? Harry thought, he didn't fail me? He had the sneaking suspicion Dumbledore had to intervene on his behalf.
"Well, you did nicely," Silver commented as she peered over his shoulder, "Too bad about Potions."
"Too bad?" he echoed, "Snape's going to kill me for making it into N.E.W.T.!"
Silver giggled at his behavior. "You're mad because you got a good O.W.L.!" she protested.
"No, you don't understand," he replied, "I really didn't want to take potions this year!"
He gazed down at his acceptable grade with hatred.
"Well, if I'm in Gryffindor, at least you'll have it with me," Silver ventured.
Harry imagined Malfoy trying to snog her in the middle of class, and immediately became a lot happier about his Potions grade. Especially after Snape had practically told him to hex every guy that came near her.
Hermione and Ron joined them soon, and Harry told them about his O.W.L.s. They were shocked that he had gotten an Acceptable in Potions.
Hermione had gotten an Outstanding in everything except for Care of Magical Creatures ("I can't believe I didn't try the milk!"). Harry tried very hard to conceal his delight at having beaten her at something.
"Hogwarts," Ron suddenly announced, peering out the window.
Silver immediately left Harry's side to go see.
"Wow," she breathed, "I was never allowed to look at it from outside before."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione gave her odd glances, but didn't say anything due to the fact that Luna was telling them all about some kind of creature or another. When they finally got off the train and convinced Silver that Esperanza would be well taken care of in the Owlry, they headed towards the threstral-pulled carriages.
"Wow," Silver said softly, "They're scary but beautiful at the same time, aren't they?"
For a moment the trio just stared at Silver.
"You can see them?" Hermione asked finally.
"Of course, can't you?" Silver replied.
"Well, no, they're threstrals. Only people who have seen death can see them," Hermione replied.
"Oh," Silver replied quietly, "Well, I've seen lots of death. When you're around people called Death Eaters all the time it's not too uncommon."
Nobody had a reply to this; they just watched as Silver walked up and patted one fondly, speaking to it quietly enough so that they couldn't hear. Finally, they all climbed in and headed off towards the castle. When they arrived and entered the Great Hall, Harry couldn't help but notice how many stares Silver attracted. After almost losing her in the crowd twice, he kept a hand on her waist until they seated themselves at the Gryffindor table, except for Silver, who refused to sit at a table she had not yet been Sorted at. Instead, she stood by them, trying to catch a signal from Dumbledore as to where she was supposed to go. Harry looked up to see her beaming at someone – of course, when he followed her gaze, it was Snape. Snape was looking at Harry with a mixture of approval and suspicion. Harry supposed Snape had seen him put his hand on her waist as he led her to the table.
"Look!" Hermione suddenly said gleefully, "Tonks!"
Harry looked further down the staff table, and Tonks was sitting there, beaming at them. When she saw them, she turned her hair from straight and black to pink and curly in delight, making herself look a bit like a clown.
"She must be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher!" Ron said, "And look, Professor Trelwaney's back!"
Sure enough, she was. Harry sighed.
"I guess its back to death signs everywhere for me," he commented. Silver giggled.
Suddenly he realized that Dumbledore was making his way towards them just as the last of the students got seated. He walked imperially up to Silver and gave a little bow.
"Come with me, if you please," he requested, holding out his hand.
Silver accepted it, and, with a last glance at Harry, accompanied him to the stage, where he promptly walked with her behind a curtain. Harry was not the only one anxious about having her out of his sight; Snape was also twisting in his seat to see where she went. Harry ignored Ron's sniggers flatly ("Gee, Harry, I'm surprised you can sleep at night with her out of your sight.") and Hermione's comforts ("Don't worry, Harry, he just didn't want her sitting at the Gryffindor table before she was Sorted").
The Sorting began almost immediately, but it's song was lost on Harry. All he knew was that it was something like the one when he first arrived – simply describing the qualities each house prized. To his disappointment, Silver wasn't included in the alphabetical order of the first years. He supposed she was going to be last. After "Wedberd, Alexis" had finally been sorted ("Hufflepuff"), Dumbledore walked onto the stage next to Professor McGonagall.
"This year, students," he announced, his voice demanding everyone's attention, "We have a new exchange student with us. She will be transferring in at the sixth year. However, no matter what year a student is in when they come to Hogwarts, they must be Sorted. So, I present to you, Miss Silver Riddle."
He said her name with painfully exact pronunciation and at her last name whispers broke out all around.
"Riddle, did he say?"
"Wasn't that you-know-who's last name?"
"You-Know-Who's daughter is at Hogwarts!"
"I thought..."
Everybody's voice trailed off as Silver stepped onto the stage. She looked very, very beautiful in the stage lighting. The light seemed to radiate off of her, making her look like some kind of angel. She sat serenely on the stool and Dumbledore did the honor of placing the Sorting Hat on her head. No more than a few seconds had passed when the Sorting Hat declared, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Dumbledore removed the hat and bowed Silver off the stage. The Gryffindor table completely erupted. Among the cheering, there were whistles and catcalls from the boys of all the tables, and which unsettled Harry slightly. It took minutes after Silver sat down in between Harry and Hermione for the cheering to completely subside. Dumbledore, however, broke it off with a small clap of his hands. Silver beamed up at Harry.
"I am a Gryffindor," she said, sounding amazed.
"Course you are," he replied, earning himself a hug. He couldn't help but look a bit smug at all the jealous glances thrown his way.
"-new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Tonks!" Dumbledore was saying. Everyone cheered for Tonks as she changed her hair so fast it was hard to keep track of, a smile on her face the whole time.
"I am sure you all would also like to welcome back your old Divination teacher, Professor Trel-"Dumbledore began, but Professor Trelwaney stopped him by standing up.
"No applause, please," she requested in her misty voice, "It interferes with the Inner Eye."
There were many snorts at this, but apparently they didn't interfere with her Inner Eye, because she sat down serenely. Dumbledore gave them his usual, "Tuck in!" and they all feasted. Harry noticed that Silver picked at her food.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Well, nothing, it's just that my Sorting was weird," she said.
"No it wasn't, you tried on the hat and it picked you a house, just like everyone else," he said.
She didn't look reassured. "No, mine was different," she replied, but she refused to say how.
Harry decided that she was probably just stressed over being singled out on stage like that and having her every move watched by every boy in the room. Harry glared at a few of them, and they turned away reluctantly. Silver's good mood seemed to return when they reached the Gryffindor common room.
"It's so – neat," she exclaimed, beaming her approval and causing several guys to gape openly. She put her hand to her mouth as she stifled a yawn. "I'm a bit tired," she admitted.
Harry smiled. "Well, Ron and I will meet you and Hermione in the common room tomorrow morning," he told her.
"Alright," she replied.
She looked up at him for a second before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him. Harry hugged her back tightly. When they parted, her eyes were bright.
"What is it?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "Nothing," she replied, "See you in the morning."
Harry wanted to find out what was really wrong, but knew that she would never tell him around all these people anyway, so he simply watched her and Hermione walk up the staircase to the girl's dormitories. At the top, she turned to look at him, a smile on her face.
"Night," he called up to her.
"Night, Harry," she replied sweetly.
Harry couldn't wipe the grin on his face as he turned to an array of jealous boys.
"C'mon," he said to Ron, heading for the boys dorms.
He was bombarded with questions about Silver on the way.
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Have you kissed her?"
"She's hot, where'd you find her?"
"Would you hex me if I tried to snog her?"
"Look guys," Harry said, "Here's what you need to know: leave her alone, and I don't hurt you."
They eyed him as if they didn't quite know if he was serious or not and left disappointed.
"Leave her alone, and I don't hurt you," Ron mimicked in a high voice.
Harry shot him a detesting look.
"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, looking more amused than sorry.
Harry fell asleep without clearing his mind at all, and paid the consequences.
In his dream, he and Silver were riding on the back of a giant hippogriff over the Great Lake, when suddenly she slid. Harry watched in horror as she plopped into the lake, and he immediately directed the hippogriff after her. Once they submerged under the surface of the water, however, he was in a dark, rather small dungeon.
"You mindless idiots have not yet found her?" a cold, cruel voice asked.
"No, My Lord, but we are very, very close," a woman replied breathlessly.
"You have failed me," he replied mercilessly, "And you will pay the price."
"No, my Lord, no! Please, have mercy!" she begged, and was echoed by several others. Harry couldn't make out much in the dim light, but he saw a tall man sitting on a throne with several masked people at his feet, and he knew enough to know what was going on.
"Have mercy?" Voldemort echoed, "Have mercy? Let me tell you something, you worthless piece of scum, that girl knows too much!"
"But, my Lord," the woman pleaded, "She wouldn't tell anyone, ever! I have made sure that she knows what will happen if she ever –"
"No!" Voldemort bellowed, and a snake hissed angrily by his side. "I want that girl, if it is the last thing you do! She will not stay silent forever!"
The Death Eaters at his feet whimpered pleas of mercy, but he was deaf to them.
"Now," he said, a quiet colorless tone to his voice, "You shall learn what happens to those that fail me. Crucio!"
Their whimpers quickly turned to screams of pain. Harry's scar ignited as if on fire and he woke with a muffled yelp.
"Harry, mate, wake up!" Ron was hissing as he stuffed a pillow over Harry's mouth to stifle the yell.
Harry shot upwards, nearly knocking his head into Ron's in the process.
"What happened?" Ron demanded, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Nothing," Harry muttered.
"Don't give me that, Harry, I could tell by listening to you that something happened," Ron replied.
"What do you know?" Harry asked grudgingly.
"You kept saying, 'He's after Silver, he wants Silver'," Ron replied.
"Well then you pretty much know, don't you?" Harry said exasperatedly, "Voldemort wants Silver. He said she knows too much."
"Well wouldn't she already have told Dumbledore?" Ron asked, cringing as Harry said Voldemort's name.
"No, you dunderhead," Harry replied, sounding dangerously like Snape, "Silver doesn't trust that easily."
"Not even Dumbledore, the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Not even him," Harry replied, "All she knows is that everybody she's ever met has hurt her, so why would she tell him?"
Ron sighed. "Well, mate, you'd better go talk to him tomorrow morning."
"Nah, Harry replied, "I have Occlumency with him at six anyway."
Ron looked doubtful, but replied, "Okay. Try and get some sleep, mate. I think those dreams tire you out more than being awake would."
Harry had to agree. He closed his eyes and in a matter of seconds drifted off into an uneasy but dreamless sleep.