If I Should Die Before I Wake

Chapter 7

Free Man

Disclaimer: JK Rowling created the world of Harry Potter, not me.

The news that Peter Pettigrew was alive and was out to get Harry troubled him. Harry had nightmares about it, though he didn't understand. Peter had hardly been any trouble for him compared to Voldemort. Yet for some reason, in his dreams, he always saw the shadow of Voldemort following Wormtail wherever he went. And Voldemort was dead! He had killed him!

Harry awoke in the middle of the night from another nightmare. He rubbed his eyes and calmed himself down. Maybe he was going crazy. But he desperately wanted the dreams to stop, so he tried to casually bring it up to Anne.

"So, how'd you make that Dreamless Sleep Potion that you gave me after I opened that bloody letter?" Harry tried to ask casually.

Anne's eyes narrowed. "And what business is it of yours? Why do you need to know?"

"Oh, er, nothing," Harry lied a little too quickly.

Anne's eyes narrowed even more, though it didn't even seem possible. "Have you been having bad dreams, Harry James Potter?"

He knew he was in for it when she used his full name. He sighed.

"I told you to tell me about any nightmares you may be having, Harry," she said, her tone still slightly harsh. "You need to tell me these things."

She looked at him expectantly, but he pretended not to notice and quickly averted his gaze toward his bedspread.

Anne cleared her throat loudly.

"What?" Harry asked her.

"You know what. Don't play smart with me, Mr. Potter!" Anne said, barely hiding her smile.

Harry sighed deeply. "Alright. I've been having nightmares about Peter Pettigrew," he said quickly, leaving out the details.

"That can't be all," Anne said suspiciously.

"It is," Harry tried to lie, but he had the impression that Anne didn't believe him.

"Alright, if you want to be difficult, fine. But no Dreamless Sleep Potion until you tell me everything. And believe me, I will know when you have told me everything." She stalked out of the room.

"You a Legilimens or something?" Harry called after her.

She chose not the answer. Then, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny walked in.

"We thought we could finish opening those presents, Harry," Ron said with a smile.

"But we have to be careful. We don't want anything to harm you," Hermione said seriously.

"I heard McGonagall blaming you lot out there. I'm sorry for going for that card… I totally forgot it could be some version of a Howler. The red just seemed Christmas-like to me."

"It's okay, Harry. We'll just be more careful this time," Ginny said.

"We've already thrown out the presents with no sender written on them," Hermione said practically. "And any presents that looked suspicious."

It was a joyful time for Harry. He received all types of presents from a lot of different people. He reached for a black parcel from Hagrid eagerly.

He noticed Hermione frowning. She whispered something urgently in Ron's ear, then Ginny put her hand on Harry's arm.

"Don't open that, Harry," she said, and Harry was surprised to detect a hint of fear in her voice.

"Oh, don't worry, Hagrid's sent loads of odd things before. It can't be that dangerous," Harry replied, his finger undoing the bow quickly. He had a strong urge to open the package as quickly as possible.

"Stop, Harry." He was shocked to hear the desperate urgency in Hermione's voice. So he did stop, though the mysterious wanting for the parcel still remained.

"What's wrong? It's from Hagrid, guys."

"Harry, we went through the presents yesterday. Hagrid always sent you one present. There's another one from him in the pile, and it looks more like his handwriting."

Ginny suddenly gasped. "Hermione, I remember a black parcel like that with yellow ribbon! Yesterday, it said it was from Ron!"

Ron started to say that he had not sent the package, but a hush fell over the room. Suddenly, the parcel had twitched slightly, and let out a soft moan, and some black mist escaped from the side of the package.

Ron paled, Hermione shrieked, and Ginny was shaking visibly. Harry felt the sudden strong urge to open the box come back, and he couldn't resist this time. He reached toward it longingly…

He couldn't hear his friends telling him no. His hands were on the ribbon, and suddenly he felt cold and shaky, though the desperate desire to open the box remained.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" cried a voice suddenly, and Harry froze as the spell hit him. Anne 'Wingardium Leviosa'-ed the parcel out of the room quickly.

Harry was trembling slightly, and his friends expressed their concerns.

"I'm fine. Let's finish opening these," he said rather uneasily. As he opened the rest of the presents, the happiness from what each contained was only temporary, as he kept thinking about what was inside the box. It refused to escape from his thoughts, and it was torturing him. No other boxes looked suspicious, and he opened the rest of them.

That night, he couldn't sleep. He dimmed the lights slightly but kept them on, for the darkness seemed to close in upon him. Eventually, he fell into a troubled sleep, escalating into a nightmare.

The black package was slowly sliding along the floor in the hallway toward his room. It entered the room and approached the bed ever so slowly. He was shaking, in his mind not wanting to open the package, though he found his hands undoing the yellow ribbon once and for all. The package opened…

A cold wind bit at his face. The dark mist filled the room, and he heard a voice.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Everything was in slow motion… Harry waited for himself to say Protego, for he had replayed the scene in his mind many times. But he did not speak. The green light approached him, gaining speed now, only a few feet away from him…

1 foot.

6 inches…

Harry woke with a scream just before the curse hit him and tried to calm himself. He was shivering, and had broken into a cold sweat. He turned the lights as high as they would go and pulled the blankets around him. He did not sleep the rest of the night. What did the dream mean? It seemed so real, but before he had reflected the curse.

The next morning he was feeling much better, for some strange reason. Today, for some reason, seemed like it would turn out to be a good day. He did his usual routine: Get up, get dressed, try to tame his hair (this usually did not work, however), get some breakfast, brush his teeth. Then he went for a swim and Anne ran him on the treadmill. He noticed her smiling more than usual.

Finally he could contain his curiosity no longer. "What are you smirking at?" he asked.

"You have finally reached your goal, Mr. Potter. You can run at a fast jog for 5 minutes now. I think it is time for you to go home."

Harry could hardly contain his glee. He stuttered in shock. "Are-are you… serious?"

"Why would I joke about something like this?"

Harry grinned so wide that Anne thought his smile would fall off of his face.

"Waking up into a new worldhas been tough, but I think I'm ready to face the real world again. I'm ready to go home," Harry said determinedly. Then realization dawned on him.

"Where do I go? I don't attend Hogwarts anymore," he said, slightly crestfallen, then angry. " I am not going back to my aunt and uncle's house! There is no way that I-"

Anne cut him off quickly. "Plans have already been made for that. I know just where you'd want to be."

When Harry looked at her questioningly, she just smiled. "Wanna live with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny?"

"Of course! Oh, that'd be wonderful!" Harry exclaimed.

"Molly, of course, offered to house you at the Burrow, but we figured it'd be best to hang out with your friends at their place," explained Anne.

"Tell Molly thanks anyway. That was nice of her," said Harry. "Blimey, I am really looking forward to getting out of here! Er, no offense, Anne. You were great," Harry added quickly.

"None taken. You're a free man, Mr. Potter. And since you're no longer my patient, I feel no guilt in giving you this."

It was a pint of Dreamless Sleep Potion. She held it out to him, then pulled it away as he reached his hand out.

"Only if you tell me exactly what you were dreaming about," she said with a sly grin.

Harry sighed in defeat. "Alright. Well, I dreamed about Peter Pettigrew coming to the hospital and cursing me to oblivion. Except, everywhere he went, the shadow of Lord Voldemort followed. It was creepy. Okay, go ahead. Laugh. I don't care."

Anne didn't laugh. Harry blinked.

"I'm not laughing, Harry. I would be scared if I was having those dreams too. Alright, here's the potion. I guess you can say you earned it."

Harry grinned that 17-year-old grin thatAnne had come to know so well. He was finally getting out of here! He had spent the past month and a half in the hospital. No, he mused with a chuckle, the past 4 years.

He quickly packed his things and put on a coat. As he walked out the doors to the hospital, he looked back fondly at St. Mungo's.

"G'bye," he whispered softly, then turned to see Ginny, Ron, and Hermione waiting for him. They grinned widely, and beckoned him forward. I'm going home, Harry thought. Home.

I'm a free man at last.

---

I meant to make this a bit longer, but I have to leave for vacation tomorrow. Sorry if there's some errors, but I thought something was better than nothing. I am on vacation until Dec. 27th, so don't expect a new chapter until then or maybe later.

Ciao! Happy Holidays!

Kelsey