Kathryn Black
Thank you. I'm glad it [the dream] didn't sound cheesy.
Tigris T Draconis
I'm updating as quickly as possible. I'm working on three stories right now and finishing up a fourth one.
Padfootlover719
Love the name. (wink) I don't want to spoil anything about who's alive and who isn't, but I promise you that this is not a slash story.
Lady Taliesin
Hiya! Thanks so much for your review, though fanfiction never sent it to me. Ah well. I appreciate it.
Yoda
Woah! Where have you been? I miss hearing from you! How's school going? Do you have anything new coming up for us who are so longingly waiting for you to write again? You need to e-mail me more! I don't hear from you enough these days!
Well anyway, glad everyone likes this so far. Hope to hear more from you! -Ela
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"Are you okay, Harry?" Ginny asked with a frown as he left Ron's room, fully dressed and ready to face the day. All save for his hair, which always looked as though it hadn't been combed. "You look tired."
"Not sleeping too well, Gin," Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Nightmares?"
You could say that, Harry thought while shrugging off the concerned words of his friend. Truth be told, Ginny had become more than a friend in these past few weeks, though part of him was afraid to admit it.
"Could say what?" asked Ginny with a raised eyebrow. Harry frowned. Hadn't he just been thinking that?
"Breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley's high pitched voice screamed from the kitchen, interrupting the thought at once. Harry winced. Every time she did that, the sound seemed to drill directly through his temples. Ginny smiled apologetically.
"You'll get used to it," she said with a slight laugh.
Harry grinned stupidly. "I hope so. I'd like to be able to hear when school starts again."
The twins were now stumbling out of their own room, not looking nearly as awake as Harry and Ginny. They were both still in their pajamas with hair that seemed to leap out at all angles. Fred yawned.
"Mornin' you two," all four stated simultaneously.
"Mum's got breakfast ready," said Ginny.
"We heard," George grumbled, slipping into the nearest washroom. Fred at his heels.
"Well, that's a new one."
"What is?" Harry asked, following Ginny down the stairs.
"They don't usually hear her. They're just up."
Harry grinned knowingly. Most likely they'd been awake for at least the past hour, just lying in bed lazily. Harry liked to do that at times. It left for an excuse to not have things done early in the morning.
"Good morning Harry, dear," Molly Weasley greeted cheerily. "Ready for breakfast?"
Harry nodded and took a seat across from Ginny. The two of them talked casually, not ceasing to greet Fred, George, or Ron when they entered the kitchen. All of whom still looked quite sloppy. Quickly, Harry ate his eggs and sausages before Mrs. Weasley could offer him seconds and slop them on his plate while he refused. He excused himself, thanked Mrs. Weasley for the wonderful meal, and fled back up to Ron's room.
Frowning, Harry realized he had completely forgotten what he was looking for and moved downstairs to rejoin the family.
"What's up?" Ron asked, taking his dirty plate to the sink. Harry shook his head and plopped down in an empty chair near a roaring fire. Mr. Weasley was working late at the ministry, so Harry had the opportunity to nab the overstuffed armchair nearby (it was Mr. Weasley's chair). When Ron returned, he took the seat next to Harry and closed his eyes, melting into its cushions with a bliss-filled grin. "So what do you want to do today?" Ron asked lazily.
Harry shrugged. He was honestly too tired to do much of anything, and for some reason he was incredibly sore. His back and arms ached immensely and he couldn't figure out why. He also had the strange feeling that someone was poking him with a very sharp quill in his forearms at times.
Suddenly taken by the sight of his right hand (which still held the scars from Umbridge's pen) Harry tried to ignore the crackling fire to reflect on why he felt so awful. Probably just slept on something wrong, Harry thought to himself. Mimicking Ron, he melted into the cushions of the chair.
"Slept on what wrong?"
Harry looked up, throwing a quizzical look at Ron.
"Who slept on what wrong?"
Ron raised an eyebrow. "You just said you slept on something wrong."
Frowning, Harry pulled himself up out of the chair and eyed Ron curiously. "Are you reading my mind?" He asked with a mock angry tone.
"No. You said it right out, mate," said Ron.
Harry blinked and decided to ignore it. He sighed lightly and melted back into the chair.
"So, what do we want to do today?"
Again, Ron shrugged. Fred and George soon entered, still not properly groomed.
"You two look like you're in a rotten state," said Fred, plopping himself down on the arm of Ron's chair.
"I think we could take care of that, don't you?" asked George, plopping down on one of the arms of Harry's chair.
"Oh, no doubt." Fred grinned, but Mrs. Weasley poked her head in to interrupt them.
"Fred! George! Go get dressed! Your father's going to be home soon and you two look disgraceful."
"Love you too, mum!" They both called in unison, and as one they trekked up the stairs.
"Nutters," Ron groaned, leaning back into his chair. Harry laughed, his eyes falling into the fire with a sort of mystified longing. He was bored, but he wouldn't admit it. The Weasley's had been so kind to take him in this summer that he would never once criticize their lack of entertainment. "Well, what are we doing?"
Harry sighed. "When do OWLs come in?"
"Not till July, I think," Ron answered, suddenly up out of his seat with a nervous twitch. "C'mon, let's go see what I've got in my room."
Harry followed Ron upstairs. Eventually joined by Ginny, Fred, and George, the five of them wasted the day away playing Wizard's Chess. The four of them teamed up against Ron, trying desperately to win one game. They lost on that attempt. Then they tried taking turns, each against Ron with the others coaching the player on. Ginny had a near victory, but at the last moment her knight had chickened out and cantered off the board.
"Get back here you chicken!" Fred hollered, launching himself at the stone figure. He caught it in time for Ron's castle to make a lasting blow on Ginny's King.
"Checkmate," Ron huffed proudly for the fourth time that day.
"Bugger," Fred cursed the knight and tossed him carelessly aside. George, sighing, looked out the window.
By the time evening came around, dinner had been prepared (and the remaining Weasley's dressed in day clothing), and the family of seven (Harry was now counted as family) enjoyed their meal outside under the stars. Harry, who was nearly always first to finish eating, took advantage of his free time and took to stargazing. Though he had a minimal interest in stargazing, Harry found it to be a relaxing hobby when nothing else could be done to pass the time.
Though it was July, Harry could still easily find his favorite constellation. Throwing himself against a tree, Harry spotted the constellation Canis Major and admired for the first time in weeks the star that was his godfather's namesake...
"Sirius..."
When Harry fell asleep that night, it was the first time he had not been greeted by the terrible memory of the Death Chamber.
In truth, Harry wasn't quite sure where he was. There was an immense blackness that surrounded him, and for a moment Harry wondered if he had died in his sleep. But just as that thought sunk into his brain, he found a glimmer of light in the encircling shadows. A pinprick of pure white radiance. Harry squinted to get a better look at it, when suddenly another one lit up nearby. Another, and another, until Harry realized that this was not death. He was floating in space! Floating, and all the little pinpricks of light were stars.
Well, this is a nice change, Harry thought to himself. Looking down, Harry noticed that he wasn't really floating. It was more like an invisible floor that was lying beneath his feet, but beyond that the universe opened up even more so. Harry could see more stars, and what he thought might even be a distant galaxy swirling slowly. Certainly beats being back at the Ministry.
"Harry?" A voice echoed from behind him. Turning his head to where he assumed the source was located, Harry frowned. He knew that voice from somewhere, but he didn't want to think on it. He ignored it and went on exploring this place that he had found himself in. "Harry?" The voice came again, and again. Not from behind; not from any angle. It seemed as though it were being whispered directly into Harry's ear. "I don't know if you can hear me, Harry, but I'm going to continue talking in case you can."
"No, I can hear you," Harry said at last.
Hearing his own voice in his dream was quite unnerving. He sounded weak and distant, like a man on his deathbed. "Where are you?"
"I'm here, Harry," came the answer. "I'm here with you. Right where I've always been."
No. That voice. It couldn't be!
"Sirius?"
There was a triumphant laugh, but it soon quieted. The voice started up again, sounding happy and relieved all at once. It drowned out the immense silence of this vacuum Harry now existed in, and he was partially grateful for it.
"So you remember me? You know who I am?"
"Of course I know who you are." Harry choked on that question. Was there a reason for him to forget his godfather? Harry turned around at once, sensing a presence, and choked once more. Sirius was standing there beside him, smiling patiently. He seemed healthier now. Ironic, considering the fact that he was dead.
Yet here to Harry he seemed very much alive. It's just a dream, Harry thought.
The smile on Sirius' face broke.
"Yes, Harry, this is a dream. But it doesn't have to be."
Harry's heart skipped. He was confused and excited, yet sad all at once.
"What do you mean? You're dead."
"No I'm not, Harry," he said with a note of sadness. "I'm alive. I'm here right now."
"You're not dead? Then, where are you?"
"Right here, Harry." Sirius reached down and brought Harry's hand into his own. "I'm here at your side. All you have to do is wake up."
"...What?"
Harry started. He was sitting up in his bed now, dripping in a cold sweat. Ron was snoring away off to his right, completely oblivious to Harry.
Frowning, he looked around. Sirius wasn't here. What had been the point of that dream?
Great, so reliving everything isn't enough? My mind has to make me think that Sirius is still alive somewhere now too?
Ron stirred, opening his eyes. "D'you say something mate?" he asked groggily.
"No, Ron, I didn't," Harry shot furiously through gritted teeth. "Go back to sleep."
Too tired to argue or care, Ron rolled over. Harry could hear him snoring again in no time.
"Just perfect," Harry hissed at himself. "I'm going insane."
Author's Note: Well, I hope all of that wasn't too boring. Don't go to sleep like Harry did, though. I've got a wonderful surprise ready for you all! And trust me, things will get weirder.
