Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.


Chapter 10: He Knows

Harry found himself staring into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore. He grinned broadly.

"Did it work?" he asked eagerly. Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes, dear boy, I believe it did," he said calmly.

Harry's smile widened. He leapt out of his chair excitedly.

"So this is real?" he asked. Dumbledore nodded, his eyes twinkling. Harry paused in his celebration. "Wait," he said, for the third time that evening. "How do I know that this isn't some elaborate scheme Voldemort cooked up to confuse me?"

Dumbledore smiled gently. "Harry, that is where you decide how much you trust me," he said. "Now, I believe you have some friends you need to see?"

"Yes sir!" Harry exclaimed, turning and running out of the office. Dumbledore chuckled to himself as the door slammed shut.

Harry raced down the hall, which was, thankfully, empty. He tore up the stairs two at a time, heading for the head dorm, where he knew his friends were waiting for him. He rounded a corner a mere twenty feet from the dorm and collided with a rather solid black object. He nearly fell over, and would have if a strong hand hadn't gripped his arm. He looked up into the scowling face of Professor Snape.

"Do watch where you're going, Potter," he snapped, letting go of Harry and brushing off is robes, as if they were contaminated.

"Sorry, sir, won't happen again," Harry said cheerfully. Snape looked rather taken aback. He had clearly been expecting a biting reply from the boy.

"Yes, well…see that it doesn't," he said smoothly, and glided off down the corridor, his robes billowing in a black cloud behind him. Harry snorted quietly and entered the head dorm.

He found the people he was looking for sprawled haphazardly about the common room. Hermione was sitting on the couch—reading, of course—and Draco was splayed across her lap. The book was laying flat on his stomach, and Hermione was leaning forward to read it, her elbow planted firmly in Draco's ribs, her chin propped in her hand. Her other hand was twisting a lock of Draco's blonde hair. Draco, it seemed, was sound asleep. Luna was seated in front of the fire, her wand tucked behind her ear, and pair of knitting needles in her hands. Harry stopped in the doorway.

"Are you knitting?" he asked incredulously. Luna looked up at him, smiling mildly.

"Hermione talked me into it," she explained. Hermione looked up.

"I did not!" she exclaimed. "You insulted my elf hats and stole the needles from me!"

"All I said was that I thought the elves could use some hats that actually looked like hats," Luna said calmly.

"My hats look like hats!" Hermione cried indignantly. Luna snorted and pulled something out of her bag.

"This looks like a wooly bladder. This does not look like a hat," she said.

"Yes it does!"

"Harry, does this look like a hat to you?" Luna asked, turning to him. Harry was startled at being asked his opinion.

"Erm…well, I, er, I can't see it very well from here," he said slowly, remaining firmly in the doorway. Luna gave an exasperated sigh and threw the hat at Harry, who caught it before it hit him in the face.

"Well?" Hermione demanded. Harry looked between the two angry girls and then down at the…thing in his hand.

"Erm…" he said slowly, trying desperately to come up with an excuse to get himself out of answering. "Um, don't you guys want to hear what went on in Dumbledore's office?" he tried weakly.

"NO, we want to know what you think of the hat," Luna said.

"Um, well…" he began, looking up at Hermione apologetically. Her eyes narrowed.

"Harry James Potter, don't you dare tell me that that hat looks bad, or I break your wand in half, shove one end down your throat and the other up your rear end, and force them further and further until they meet again in your bladder," she threatened. Harry's eyes widened and he gulped. A snicker came from the sleeping figure on the couch, making them all jump.

"Wow, Potter, can't wait to see you get yourself out of this one," Draco said smugly, not opening his eyes.

"I thought you were sleeping!" Hermione accused.

"Well, it's kinda hard to sleep when you lot won't shut up," the blonde said snidely. Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up, dumping Draco unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Well that's just fine, Mr. Malfoy," she said haughtily. "We'll just see how you like sleeping on the floor then."

Draco scowled and crossed his arms across his chest, muttering darkly. Harry caught the words "over-bearing" and "not my mother." Apparently, Hermione heard them as well, because she grabbed a pillow and thumped her boy-friend in the back of the head.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You'll mess up my hair!"

Hermione giggled and sat back down on the couch, positioning herself so that she had one of her legs on either side of Draco, who was still on the floor. She leaned down to kiss his forehead, her brown curls falling onto his face. Luna made a gagging noise from her spot in front of the fire.

"Okay, let's stop this now before it turns into a snogging session between you tow," she said teasingly. "Otherwise, Harry and I will have to start snogging so we don't feel left out."

"What's wrong with that?" Harry asked, only half-joking. It was his turn for a pillow in the face, this one thrown by Luna, who must have conjured it, because there were no pillows anywhere near her.

"Okay, okay, everyone shut up!" Draco commanded. "I want to know what went on in the old man's office. Spill, Potter."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Draco, you're worse than a girl when it comes to gossip."

"Yes, but you love me for it," Draco said smoothly, grinning.

"Shut up, both of you, I want to hear what Harry has to say," Luna said.

"Okay, well, Dumbledore did this weird spell kind of thing on his Penseive. He said it was flawless, and it would send me into my real reality. So I did what he told me to, and I stay put," Harry paused to breath, letting the information sink in before continuing.

"So what does that mean?" Hermione asked.

"It means that this is real, and my dreams are just…dream."

"What about the visions?" Luna asked.

"Well, I told him about the one I had a few hours ago, you know? He says that there's a Secret Keeper for me. Apparently, they cast the spell on me last year to keep me away from Voldemort physically. And Voldemort wants the Secret Keeper so that he can find out where I am. It's like, no matter where I'm at, even if I'm right in front of him, he can't find me. So I can go wherever, but if the Secret Keeper tells, then I'm easy prey."

"Who's the Secret Keeper?" Draco asked curiously. Harry shrugged.

"Dunno. Dumbledore wouldn't tell me. All he said was that it was someone who they would never suspect."

"I wonder who it could be," Hermione said excitedly, her brain kicking into gear.

"I don't know, but I think I have a hunch of who it might be," Harry said.

"Who?" the other three said simultaneously, leaning in to hear.

"I think it might be Snape," Harry said. Realization dawned on the three faces in front of him as they pondered that thought.

"That would be perfect," Hermione said finally. "I mean, he is right in Voldemort's inner circle, isn't he? Why should Voldemort suspect any of his Death Eaters? It makes perfect sense."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "And I'm safe as long as Snape doesn't cave."

The words had barely left his mouth when, for the second time that day, his scar exploded in pain. He clapped his hands to his head, only vaguely hearing the girls' panicked cries and Draco's calming voice tell him to relax. His eyes rolled back in his head, and it was as if someone switched on a film strip before his eyes.

He was once again standing off to the side of the large dungeon room. Nearly three dozen Death Eaters were gathered in a circle around a pedestal set up in the center of the room. The double doors at one end opened and Voldemort strolled in, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape on his heels. He climbed up onto the platform and the group fell silent.

"My loyal Death Eaters," he began smoothly. "I have good news and bad news." His lips curled into a mile. "Which do you want first?"

The Death Eaters were silent, unmoving. Then a shout came up from the back: "Bad!"

Voldemort chuckled. "Okay, then, Avery. The bad news is that Harry Potter is now aware that I have been messing with his mind, and he knows now what his reality is. That fool Dumbledore used a spell I hadn't anticipated, and Potter now knows what is going on."

There were scattered mumbles spread around the group. Voldemort held up his hands to silence them.

"However, the good news greatly overrides the bad news. I believe Severus has something he wants to say?"

Harry's heart pounded in his chest as he watched his Potions master step up onto the platform. He looked to Voldemort before speaking.

"Dumbledore has made me Secret Keeper to the Potter boy's whereabouts," he said simply, before stepping onto the floor again.

Voldemort began to laugh, his eyes shining with glee. "Wonderful! Severus, come with me, we shall discuss Potter. We attack at sunrise in three day's time."

The image slowly faded away, and Harry opened his eyes to see three worried faces bending over him.

"Harry?" Hermione asked. Harry said up, staring horrified at the others. "Harry, what is it?"

"He knows."


A/N: Ten chapters left.

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