Miss Moony would like to dedicate this chapter to Hana for being the first reviewer.
Miss Moony would also like to thank Sandra Cloudpole, HPfreakout and Elemental-sorcerer for reviewing.
To Sandra Cloudpole (aka riss): Um… I didn't really understand that question. Do you mean is the fact that they think Harry knows what's going on going to be relevant to the rest of the story? If so, then I'm not really sure. If not, then could you clarify what you do mean? And in response to your last review: NO WAY!!! Sorry, but I'm not a big fan of Harry/Draco pairings, and, in my opinion, Draco's nothing more than a greasy git and Harry doesn't fancy him. Um… I haven't really thought about them making mistakes about the identity of the people in Harry's thoughts yet, unless you count the Padfoot thing in the last chappie. I dunno; maybe.
Hem-hem… All the quotes from the books are from memory, so sorry if they're inaccurate.
------- I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good -------
Chapter 4
A rattling breath… Cold… Dementors… "Lily, take Harry and run. I'll hold him off"… "Please, have mercy"… Screaming… Expecto patronum… Expecto patronum… Expecto… Expecto…
The frail frame of the boy shivered and cried.
Briar woke early the next morning to Rosethorn's shouts. He was clearly needed in the garden.
He moaned and got out of his "nest", before stumbling into the kitchen for a quick bite to eat and then going out into the garden.
Rosethorn frowned at him in a disapproving manner. 'What are you wearing, boy?' she asked.
Briar looked down and flushed, realising that he hadn't bothered to change out of his pajamas before coming out.
Rosethorn rolled her eyes. 'Go inside and get yourself changed,' she said and then called after his retreating back, 'And don't dawdle!'
Briar did as he was told, having no wish to be on the receiving end of Rosethorn's temper when he was still half-asleep, and was soon outside again, pulling weeds.
Weeding and boredom was all that entered his thoughts until he heard a shriek from inside.
He jerked his head up and turned to look behind him in shock. A tremor of panic came towards him down his connection to Sandry.
Rosethorn came towards him briskly. 'What's the problem, boy?' she asked.
Briar looked up at her from where he knelt next to the flowerbed. 'I don't know, but something scared Sandry.'
Rosethorn clicked her tongue in annoyance and rolled her eyes. 'Go and see then,' she said. 'I'm not stopping you.'
Briar nodded and ran to join Sandry inside.
The caress of a dead hand… Mist… Ice… Freezing… Everything's frozen… Expecto… Expecto… Expecto Patronum… "You can do better than that"… Laughter… Echoing… "She killed Sirius! I'll kill her!"…
A silver mist came and went, as silent as the night.
Sandry was backed up against the wall in the kitchen when Briar burst in, shortly followed by Tris and Daja, who had come from their duties to see what was wrong.
At first, Briar didn't see what was wrong, but after hearing Daja's intake of breath, he followed her eyes and saw a silver mist, slowly taking form. He took a moment to process the fact that it was seeping out from under his bedroom door.
He stared in astonishment as the mist died, then came again, this time stronger and with the form inside clearer. It was some kind of animal; one with hooves. A deer, perhaps.
'Stag…' Evvy whispered, approaching the creature from where she had been sitting on the stairs and gently reaching out to touch it. 'He's beautiful.'
And indeed he was, but as Evvy's hand touched him, he diminished, once again becoming a mist. And, this time, the mist didn't return.
'Harry,' Briar said once the stag had gone, moving towards his bedroom, hoping to speak with the boy who had accidentally summoned the mist.
Harry was sitting up against the wall, hugging himself and shivering. His face was moist with sweat.
Briar sighed and crouched down by his side, reaching out and placing his hand gently on the smaller boy's cheek, before automatically withdrawing slightly when he recoiled at the touch.
'… Expecto… Expecto…' Harry said, his voice quiet and fearful.
''Sokay,'' Briar said, putting his arms around his charge. 'No need to be scared anymore. I've got you…'
"Not going to let them hurt you anymore, Harry"… Ron? … Hermione? … I'm sorry… "No one hurts my friends and gets away with it"… Neville? … Luna? … Ginny? … I didn't mean to hurt you… I didn't mean to kill you…
He choked out a sob as he curled into his friends' embrace.
