Harry Potter and the Arch of Hades

By: Merusa

Chapter 7: The Shadow

Harry Potter was tired.

Exhausted, in fact, to the point where he wished he could just fall into bed.

Being Head Boy, Harry had quickly discovered, was oftentimes miserable work.

For example, the patrols at midnight after a day of N.E.W.T.'s preparation.

Harry knew what he wanted to do with his life, and it only really involved good marks in one subject- not mentioning the fact that with his own small personal fortune, along with the money Sirius had left him, he actually had no need to pass.

Hermione had other ideas, and decided that Harry and Ron should follow those ideas meticulously, under threat of bodily damage.

Harry made a mental note to never cross Hermione.

It didn't help that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was....less than competent. As a matter of fact, she was a complete and utter idiot. After nearly a month, Harry had expected her to pull out something wonderful, but she proved to be, at best, a mediocre teacher. He wondered what Dumbledore had been thinking this time.

It was with these random thoughts that Harry walked the corridors somewhat worriedly. It had been some time since The Incident, but Harry was still wary.

Lost in thought, eyes toward the ground, Harry focused on nothing and everything.

He didn't notice that something had brushed against one of his legs until a few moments afterwards.

He looked up abruptly, and stopped in his tracks.

He was looking into the eyes of his godfather.

Sirius was standing in front of him. Harry watched in shock as Sirius smiled gently lifted his arm up, revealing that the Golden Apple sat in his hand.

"Do you know what to do, Harry?"

Harry blinked, and Sirius was gone.

He stumbled and felt his back hit the wall. He gasped for breath, his eyes trained on the spot Sirius had been standing in a moment beforehand.

You dozed off, he told himself, and you just dreamed it.

He stumbled back to the Head Boy rooms in a daze.

That's it for now, and here's why.

I'm practically getting zero feedback from you guys. I take hours out of my week to write this story. Can't you guys take a minute to type a few sentences? I don't care if it's selfish; I'm not going to write if you're not going to review. Even if you don't like the story or the chapter, I'd still really appreciate the comments. I'm not asking much of you guys. I know I don't update consistently and I don't always respond to chapters. I can't always find the time to read the stories that you guys write.

However, I'm trying.

If you have a really busy schedule and can find no time to review, that's one thing. But if you have a few minutes left on your computer, why not make someone's day a little brighter?

I'm not going to post if you're not going to review.

Thanks to Greek Mione and pumpkinfrankie for reviewing.

Notes to pumpkinfrankie: No, Draco isn't going to end up with Harry. There's very little slash in this story, and it doesn't play a very large part. Dumbledore's just...old. A lot of people write him as superhuman, but he's not. He ages like everyone else. However, he does have some surprises in him yet. Thank you for everything you said, it really meant a lot to me. Thanks for the promise, as well.

"Punished, we were! Disproportionate to our crime!"

-Captain Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Merusa