Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's characters, places, items, ect.

Comments: I am in a very review-loving mood for no particular reason today, so I just want to thank all you wonderful reviewers! Criticism is very helpful, no matter if it bruises my ego or not! ;) Anyway, this is kind of a 'recovery' chapter, and I'm not sure if it's all that good.

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Okay, so I downloaded this chapter, right? Yeah, well there were like a THOUSAND mistakes after I uploaded it, and so this is the edited version, and so if you've read this chapter before and some parts were really weird (like sentences just trailed off into nothingness...), then it's fixed now. So anyway, sorry about that, and if there are more mistakes...well, it's taken me long enough to fix all of the ones so far, so imagine something up if there are any trailing off sentences.
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Chapter 39 – Questions

Bright sunlight filtering through orange curtains awoke Harry. He squinted his eyes open and turned his head in the direction of the offending source. The sun's rays blinded him for a moment, but then, amidst the brightness, a dark silhouette became visible. A slim, flattering figure reached up and pulled the curtains all the way shut. For a moment, everything was too dark to see compared to the brightness that had awoken him, but soon his surroundings became blurredly visible. All he knew was that he was in a very orange room. The same figure that had closed the curtains came and stood beside him, speaking in soft, comforting tones that he couldn't make out for a second. A cool hand swept over his forehead and he knew who it was. He strained to hear her words, and focused on her blurry figure intently.

"...and I know you can't see me right now, Harry, and maybe you can't hear me, either, but you're going to be okay," Silver told him earnestly.

He began to make out her face. Her pretty brown eyes were obstructed with worry and concern as she looked at him. She looked as if she were about to cry at any moment. Wanting to comfort her, he tried to speak, but all that came out was a frustrated grunt. She sighed and turned away, as if it hurt her to look at him. She walked over to the corner of the room, where someone else was sitting in an armchair, reading a newspaper. As Harry focused, the room came into vision. Lupin was the person in the corner, and he looked up as Silver approached him.

"Is he getting any better?" he inquired.

"I don't think so," Silver replied, "Sometimes I think he recognizes me for a moment, but I think it's only my imagination."

Harry was puzzled. Why wouldn't he be able to recognize her? And why did she think he couldn't see or hear her?

"He'll come around," Lupin replied, "He's been quiet for a while now; that's probably a good sign."

"I hope so," Silver replied tearfully.

Harry glanced around the room. He was in Ron's room, which explained the orange. Quidditch posters hung on nearly every wall. On the nightstand beside him was a picture of Hermione, which was also looking at him with concern. He looked back at Silver and Lupin. Silver was peering down at Lupin's newspaper intently.

"You do realize that you're reading yesterday's newspaper?" she inquired.

Lupin's eyes flew to the top of the page.

"Ah," he said unconvincingly, "Of course."

Silver giggled and glanced downwards. She stooped and picked up another edition of the Daily Prophet.

"Here it is," she announced, handing it to him.

Lupin sheepishly put down the paper he was reading and reached for it, when Silver gasped and clapped her hand to her mouth. The paper fell out of her hands and clattered to the floor.

"What is it?" Lupin asked, "Why..."

He trailed off as his eyes landed on the paper.

Harry's vision had returned in full by now, and he felt much more aware of his surroundings than he had previously. He sat up, but neither of the two noticed. Lupin had picked up the paper and both of them were reading something intently.

"Oh," Silver said softly, looking up at Lupin.

He read for a few more seconds and then returned her gaze.

"What's going on?" Harry inquired.

Silver and Lupin both jumped about three feet into the air as they looked at him.

"You see us," Lupin commented.

"Uh, yeah," Harry agreed uncertainly.

Silver began to go into transports of delight.

"Harry!" she squealed, rushing up and tackling him in a hug that nearly made him fall backwards, "Oh, Harry, do you really see me? And hear me, can you hear me too?"

She pulled away to look into his eyes hopefully.

"Yup, sure do," he confirmed.

She gave a sort of happy squeal and enfolded him in another hug.

Lupin looked somewhere between elation and shock. Harry looked at him questioningly over Silver's shoulder. Lupin suddenly jumped up and threw open the door.

"Harry's back!" he yelled down the stairs.

Harry heard a sort of cheering, and then Mrs. Weasley's voice. "Arthur, go inform everyone!"

He heard a pounding up the stairs, and the next moment, Mrs. Weasley burst in. Silver drew away from him, allowing Mrs. Weasley to give him one of her strangling hugs. When she released him, her eyes were bright. She took his head in her hands and tousled his hair affectionately as a tear trickled down her cheek.

"There now, Harry," she said, "There now."

Harry was a bit confused by all the fuss everyone was making. He heard more footsteps, and Mr. Weasley appeared in the room. Harry turned to look at him, and a huge grin spread across Mr. Weasley's face.

"Atta boy, Harry, atta boy!" he exclaimed, patting Harry heartily on the back.

Harry was very confused this time.

"Why is everyone so happy?" he asked, "And why am I here? What's going on?"

Slowly, everyone's smiles faded. He looked at each of them in turn, and finally turned to Lupin. Lupin's face contorted with some unreadable emotion and he turned away from Harry's gaze.

"Don't you remember, Harry?" Silver asked quietly, "Don't you remember your dreams?"

He looked at her blankly. "Dreams?" he echoed.

Silver's eyes began to tear. "Oh, Harry," she sighed.

"What dreams?" he insisted.

"You kept talking, Harry," Silver said, "You just kept talking."

She reached her hand up to brush a tear away. "Remus," she said pleadingly.

Lupin cleared his throat, and Harry looked over at him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley filtered out of the room quietly.

"Well, you were talking in your sleep," Lupin informed him, "It sounded like you were repeating every conversation you ever had with Voldemort. And you...you were talking to..."

He broke off, the pain in his voice causing him to trail off.

"Who?" Harry asked, "Who was I talking to?"

Lupin turned away, looking tortured by Harry's question.

"Oh, Harry, it was Sirius," Silver said, furiously wiping at tears that were forming in her eyes.

Harry froze. "What do you mean?" he asked finally.

Silver shook her head. "You opened your eyes, Harry, and you talked to him like he was standing right beside you," she said shakily, "No matter if it was me standing there, or Dumbledore, or Remus, or nobody at all, you just kept talking to Sirius."

"What did I say?" Harry asked. "I don't know," Silver said, "I made everyone leave because it sounded personal, and I left, too. Remus stayed, though. He knows."

Harry looked at Lupin, who looked back at him miserably. Silver placed a hand on Harry's head for a moment and then quietly left the room.

"I was talking to Sirius?" Harry repeated.

"You were," Lupin confirmed.

"What was I saying?" Harry questioned.

"Everything," Lupin said, "You told him how you felt about everything, all your frustrations, all your guilt, just everything."

Harry was quiet for a moment. He strained his memory, but he could not, for the life of him, remember what had happened after he fell asleep. He didn't remember ever opening his eyes, and he definitely didn't remember talking to Sirius.

"You know, Harry," Lupin said, interrupting his thoughts, "You feel guilty for a lot of things you shouldn't. The weight of the world doesn't have to rest on your shoulders."

Harry thought of the prophecy, and looked down. "Yes it does," he replied.

"No, Harry," Lupin answered, "I know about the prophecy."

Harry's head shot up. "What do you mean, you know about the prophecy?" he demanded.

"You told me – I mean, you told Sirius about it," Lupin answered uncomfortably.

Harry felt as if a brick had been dropped on his head. "Oh," he said dumbly.

"Harry, although you are the only one who can defeat Voldemort, you have to realize that there are many people who will support you and help you in any way possible," Lupin told him, "You don't have to train yourself to defeat him, and you don't have to keep your emotions bottled up inside of you."

Harry looked up at Lupin silently, considering the man before him. Lupin's face was unfairly aged – he looked much to weary for a man in his late twenties. But Lupin had undergone many losses and disappointments, of that Harry was sure. It couldn't be easy, being a werewolf, not to mention losing all your closest friends.

"Harry," Lupin said, "I know I'm not Sirius, but you can talk to me anytime you want. Not that I'm forcing you or anything, I just want you to know that I'm here." "Yeah, I know," Harry answered, "But it's hard to start talking."

He studied the bed he was sitting on as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever seen. He was very unnerved by the fact that he was talking to his dead godfather in his sleep, and that he couldn't remember any of it. He looked up at Lupin, who was looking at him with a mixture of sympathy and sadness.

"Did I – did I say anything about him being dead?" Harry finally asked.

"You told him that it was all your fault, and that you're afraid you're going to end up killing other people that you love," Lupin answered disapprovingly, "Neither of which are true."

"But it is my fault," Harry answered, "I took everyone on a wild goose chase. And it ended up in Sirius' death. And who's to say it won't happen again?"

"It's not your fault, Harry!" Lupin exclaimed, his voice rising a notch, "How is it your fault that Voldemort sent you a vision, and you believed it? You had no way of knowing, and you did a brave and noble thing in going to rescue Sirius!"

"But it wasn't so noble when Sirius ended up dead, was it?" Harry yelled back, his temper flaring.

"Absolute trash!" Lupin raged, sounding a bit like Snape, except calmer, "Sometime in your life you are going to have to face the fact that everything that happens in life doesn't happen because of you!"

Harry stopped, momentarily stunned. The way Lupin said it, it made Harry seem

"What's that supposed to mean?" he sputtered.

"It means that you have to stop thinking that you are the center of everything that happens," Lupin answered, "Sirius came because he wanted to, Harry, not because you forced him to. He came because he cared about you, damn it, and that's nothing you could help!"

"Well why did he have to care so much?" Harry roared, noting how ridiculous it sounded and not caring in the least.

Lupin looked for a moment as if he were going to laugh, but then regained his seriousness. "He didn't have to, Harry, he wanted to," he replied.

Harry sat silently for a moment, letting his temper die down. He stared at the bed once more. Why does this all have to happen to me? he wondered.

"I wish I were someone else," he finally said, "I just want to live a normal, Voldemort-free life for a while."

"If you hadn't gone through everything you have, you wouldn't have half the things that make you happy today," Lupin replied.

"Yeah, but I would be happy with other things," Harry answered.

"Would you be so happy without Silver?" Lupin inquired, "Or without Ron and Hermione as your best friends?"

Harry thought about this for only a moment. "No," he finally replied, "But wouldn't all the other things I would have keep me happy?"

"Is Ron completely happy?" Lupin answered, "Even with his family and home?"

Harry reluctantly shook his head. "He thinks it's cool to be me," Harry answered.

"I think he would change his mind if he were you," Lupin said wisely, "But as you can see, nobody has a perfectly happy life all the time."

Harry supposed it made a bit of sense.

"Maybe," he answered.

They were both silent for a while; Harry carefully avoiding Lupin's gaze most of the time. He half wanted to tell Lupin everything he felt, and half wanted to go back to sleep.

"Remus!" somebody called up the stairs, "We want to visit Harry!"

"Come on up!" Lupin called back down.

The next second it sounded as if a stampede of hippogriffs was headed their way. Harry exchanged a worried glance with Lupin. The door flung open and what looked like every member of the Order minus Dumbledore burst in, plus Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, and Charisma. Snape and Silver were both absent, and Harry imagined that Silver was trying to coax him to come and say hi to Harry. He figured she would probably have to drag him forcefully up the stairs. For a few minutes he was enfolded in hugs, pats on the back, and words of encouragement and happiness. When Hermione hugged him he was able to barely make out over her shoulder a picture of Tonks and Lupin hugging. Lupin caught his eye, and Harry raised his eyebrow at him. He turned away, and Harry grinned.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione inquired as she pulled away.

"Ah, nothing," he replied.

Just then Snape appeared in the doorway, looking as if he would rather be anywhere else. He made eye contact with Harry warily.

"Hello," he said stiffly.

"Hi," Harry answered.

Snape walked out of the room once more, much to Harry's amusement. After a few moments, Silver came into the room, looking a bit tentative. She looked at him as if she were afraid he might break at any moment, and he smiled reassuringly at her. A smile spread over her face, and she walked up to him. Their eyes met, and he saw concern and relief in her eyes. He wasn't quite sure what she saw in his, because he had too many emotions at the moment for them all to be showing in his eyes, he was sure. He realized that everyone was watching them, and he pulled her down beside him. Instantly conversation started up again.

"Are you really all right, Harry?" she whispered, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Sure," he replied.

She gave a shaky sigh. "You really scared me, Harry," she informed him.

"Sorry," he replied, rubbing up and down her arm.

He looked around at the orangeness of Ron's room.

"So, uh, why'd they bring me here?" he inquired.

"Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let them bring you anywhere else," Silver answered, smiling.

"Ah," Harry replied, grinning and looking at Mrs. Weasley, who was conversing with Kingsley, Tonks, and Lupin.

He pulled Silver closer and wondered if she would mind if he kissed her in front of everybody – not that anybody was watching at the moment. He glanced down at her, and she looked up at him. A grin spread across his face as he did so.

"You wanna kiss me, dontcha?" he asked amusedly.

"Wherever did you get such an idea?" she replied indignantly, but she, too, was smiling.

He bent down towards her, and for a moment she looked as if she were going to resist, but at the last moment she reached her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. Waves of relief and contentness washed through him as he kissed her. The world and all the problems in it fell away, to be replaced with feelings of happiness, with a faint trace of longing. He pulled away slightly and looked down at her. Her brown eyes looked into his emerald ones, and the longing was intensified. Harry didn't know or care if anybody was watching, and Silver appeared to be thinking along the same lines as they tightened their hold on each other for another kiss. Harry didn't allow her to draw away in the least, not that she was trying to. He felt a light tap on the side of his head, and Lupin's voice filtered through the world they were in.

"Let's try and keep this appropriate, kids," he said warningly.

Harry reluctantly allowed Silver to fall back through his arms and away from him. Silver relaxed in his arms for only a moment before withdrawing completely. His brow furrowed as he looked at her. Her eyes were easy to read. She was embarrassed – embarrassed at kissing him in front of all those people. He didn't really see what it mattered, but apparently it was important to her.

"Oh Harry," she said, sounding only half frustrated, "Why do you have to do that?"

"What?" he replied.

Silver glanced around warily to make sure no one was watching before replying. "You kissed me in front of all these people," she accused.

"And you played absolutely no part in it?" he asked, grinning and raising an eyebrow at her.

She blushed profusely. "Well, it's mostly your fault, and you know it," she answered.

"Alright, I'm sorry," he apologized, not meaning it in the least.

She smiled. "Yes, I can tell by the look on your face," she answered sarcastically.

He grinned mischievously. "Okay, I'm not sorry at all, is that better?" he inquired.

"Very much," she replied.

He reached for her, but she batted his hands away. "No you don't!" she said, scooting away from him.

He drew back disappointedly and observed her with amusement. She stood up and looked around the room.

"He's not here," Harry told her.

She sighed. "I know," she said, "I was just hoping maybe he came back."

"Yeah, fat chance," Harry answered, "Anyway, if he had I'd probably be dead for kissing you right now."

She giggled. "You're probably right," she admitted.

He looked up at her, silently dreading what he knew was going to happen next – she was going to leave to go look for Snape.

"You don't have to go and get him," he coaxed, "If he wanted to be up here, he would be."

"He's all alone right now, though," she answered.

"So?" Harry replied, "He likes to be alone."

Silver shot him a reproving glance.

"And when did he tell you that?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Well, it just seems like he does," he said.

For a moment Silver looked as if she were going to be mad at him, but she stopped. She came and sat down beside him on the bed.

"I know how you feel about him, Harry, and I know how he treats you," she said, "But he's all alone right now and you have this entire room full of people who love and care about you. The reason he doesn't want to be up here is because he doesn't have that, and it makes him uncomfortable. He just has me."

"Well, you'd better go get him then," he answered, still disappointed.

She smiled and kissed him softly. "Thanks, Harry," she whispered.

He was still enjoying the feel of having her lips brush against his when she disappeared. He sighed. He would have liked to have her all to himself for just a few more minutes. He glanced over at Ron, who looked as if he were speaking some sort of mush to a beaming and blushing Hermione, and gave him a shove.

"Ah!" Ron exclaimed, "What was that for?"

"Quit the mush and talk to me," he answered.

"You don't mind when it's your mush," Ron answered.

"No, I don't," Harry agreed, "But hopefully you're not going to give me any mush."

Ron blushed and Hermione giggled.

"Where's Silver?" she inquired.

"Three guesses," Harry answered, sarcasm lacing his voice.

"The stupid git again," Ron said, "Why does she always..."

"Because she's all he has, Ron," Hermione interrupted impatiently.

Harry looked at her in amazement. "That's exactly what she said," he groaned.

"Well, it's true," Hermione replied, giving them a patronizing look.

They looked at each other and rolled their eyes, earning them a disapproving "Tut!" from Hermione.

Fred, George, and Ginny all came and joined them.

"Silver gone to fetch the grumpy git?" Fred asked, sounding as if he were making polite conversation.

"Yup," Ron confirmed.

"Figures," George said, shrugging, "So, you feeling okay, Harry?"

"Uh, yeah," Harry answered, aware that all of his friends were currently giving him extremely hard stares.

"We came to visit you once or twice," Fred said.

"But you were talking to Voldemort, and then you would put on this really deep voice and be Voldemort talking back to yourself..." George trailed off.

"I don't remember a thing," Harry admitted, "It was probably a weird side- effect of talking with Voldemort."

Everyone began to look frightened for Harry's life.

"Yes, I spoke with Voldemort," Harry confirmed, causing them to jump, "It's probably going to happen again, so I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

"I don't think so," Ron replied, "You didn't see Dumbledore – he went ballistic. If that ever happened again, I think he would work himself up so much that he would drop dead on the spot."

Harry grinned. "He was that mad?" he asked curiously.

"Oh yes, Harry," Hermione said, "And for a good reason! It was really scary watching you talk and move with your eyes open, like you were having a real conversation. I don't know how Silver stayed almost the whole time, except when you were..."

She trailed off, suddenly looking fearful.

"Talking to Sirius," Harry finished, "Yeah. I just wish I could remember something. I don't remember any weird dreams or...anything."

Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"Well, here's Silver," George offered suddenly, looking up.

"And her bodyguard," Fred added.

Silver and Snape had entered the room, and Silver had fixed Lupin with a pleading look. Lupin obediently walked up to Snape and began to make conversation, although Snape looked as if he were going to begin randomly hexing people at any given moment. For a second Silver stayed by his side, and then she tugged at his sleeve and stood on her tiptoes to tell him something. He gave a stiff nod, and she walked over to them.

"Hey, princess," George greeted.

She smiled at both him and Fred. "Hi, guys," she answered.

The three of them exchanged a significant glance, which bothered Harry a bit, but he didn't comment. Suddenly, all the talking in the room ceased. Everybody looked towards the doorway, where Dumbledore was standing and looking rather imperial. He looked at Harry for a long while before acknowledging him.

"Hello, Harry," he greeted.

"Hi," Harry answered.

Dumbledore looked around the room, and everybody in it immediately headed for the door. Silver lingered behind until she, Harry, and Dumbledore were the only people left in the room. She and Dumbledore exchanged a meaningful glance. She turned to Harry and hugged him tightly.

"See you later, sweetie," she said quietly.

She kissed him gently, and within the kiss Harry sensed a promise of more to come, but she drew away and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Harry turned to face Dumbledore, who sat down and motioned for Harry to sit across from him.

"I suppose you have a lot of questions for me," Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded.

"Ask away," Dumbledore answered.

Harry took a deep breath and began.