CHAPTER 19 – Harry

Harry walked down from the dormitory the next morning, to find Hermione already waiting for him. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and laced their fingers together. They walked out of the common room. They got down to breakfast early, ate, and left just as Ron and Luna entered. They slowly watched to their first class of the day, transfiguration.

Harry watched McGonagall transform a beaker into a small stool, and then back again. She was saying something, But he just wanted to close his eyes. His vision blurred as McGonagall demonstrated a wand movement.

The black shape upon the floor shifted a little. Harry saw a long-fingered white hand clutching a wand rise on the end of his own arm…heard the high, cold voice say, "Crucio!"

The man on the floor let out a scream of pain, attempted to stand but fell back writhing. Harry was laughing. He raised his wand, the curse lifted, and the figure groaned and became motionless.

"Lord Voldemort is waiting."

Very slowly, his arms trembling, the man on the ground raised his shoulders a few inches and lifted his head. His face was bloodstained and gaunt, twisted in pain yet rigid with defiance….

"You'll have to kill me," whispered Sirius.

"Undoubtedly I shall in the end," said the cold voice. "But you will fetch it for me first, Black...You think you have felt pain thus far? Think again….We have hours ahead of us and nobody to hear you scream…. (Order of the Phoenix, JK Rowling, Page 727-728)"

Sirius's face paled. It seemed to bulge in some places, and thin in others. He lost height and he robes became grayed and tattered. His hair shortened, and the voice screamed again.

"Crucio!"

Lupin fell to the floor, but as soon as the curse was lifted, he tried to stand again.

"Do you think you can defeat me? Why do you fight? Crucio!"

Lupin gasped, but did not scream. He clenched his teeth.

"With you dead that will leave only Pettigrew, and he is very… faithful to me. Your little troop is all gone Remus."

"You bastard."

Voldemort laughed. "I do not think you are in the position to be insulting me."

"You can't win. Harry is more powerful than you would think."

"The boy will not pose a threat! And with the Order being picked off one, by, one."

"MR. POTTER!" McGonagall transfigured his chair into a small slip of parchment, causing Harry to land hard on his rear. Most of the class giggled. "It would be appreciated if you did not fall asleep in my class."

Harry stood up and grabbed his books.

"I do not have time to go over – Mr. Potter? Where are you going?"

Harry was already at the door. A tear slid down his cheek and he ran down the hall slamming the door behind him. There was a stunned silence until Hermione and Ron rushed to their feet and left. The room burst into sound and Neville heard McGonagall sigh audibly.

They caught up to Harry about a minute later.

Hermione put her arm around his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"Sirius…" He shook her off and ran onto a staircase which moved before she could step onto it.

Ron walked up to her standing, a little stunned and the edge of the stairs.

"What happened?" Ron looked confused.

"I don't know, he just said Sirius," She replied.

"He's headed to Dumbledore's office," He said. "Let's go."

"But the stair haven't moved back yet," Hermione said.

Ron walked to the railing and stepped off the edge. She dashed to the banister and looked down. Ron had landed on a balcony, levels below, only about twenty feet from Dumbledore's office. Hermione looked down below. She stepped off slowly and screamed. The impact caused her legs to buckle and her knees collapsed, and she fell forward.

"Could you be less noisy next time?" Ron asked.

She glared and looked up. They had only fallen about twenty-five feet, but it felt like fifty. The stair case moved back to where they had jumped from just as they left. They heard Harry coming so they hid behind a large tapestry, feeling a bit foolish for following him.

Harry walked up to the gargoyle.

"Lemon Drop. Cockroach cluster. Drobble's Best Blowing Gum."

The gargoyle moved and the staircase appeared. He walked up slowly and opened the door to the office.

Harry approached the door to the office, as another tear made is way down the curve of his cheek. They thought he had forgotten about Sirius, or maybe he just put it behind him. No. Of course not. And trying to hide the fact that he still felt somewhat responsible and wanted to just go off and cry a lot, and he did, sometimes, really tore him up inside. He felt as if he had a constant headache. He stepped through the door, only noting Dumbledore. Not Fawkes sitting in a pile of ashes, not the other person in the room, and not the absence of the glow of his sword.

"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said. "What is it?"

"I had another dream, or a thing from Voldemort, or I don't know."

Dumbledore remained silent.

"Only this one was different. It started off exactly the same as the one with – with Sirius, but then he changed into Lupin."

"Well, I do know that Remus is very safe at the moment. Ask him yourself, if you do not believe me."

"Harry glanced up suddenly. Lupin was standing behind Dumbledore."

"Hello Harry."

"Uh… Hi." He turned back to Dumbledore. "So Voldemort still wants to trick me into going somewhere? Doesn't he think you wouldn't let me?"

"Harry, Voldemort realizes that both you and I will not fall for this at all…" Dumbledore sighed. "I believe he is just trying to give you pain…"

Harry nodded, and a tear slid down the side of his cheek. He stood up to leave.

"Oh and Harry?"

"Yes?"
"Send Miss Granger in; she is right outside."

A/N: Okay… well just so you know, this story will be done in roughly eight or nine more chapters… Read&Review Reviews make me write faster…