A/N: Wooo...thanks for thereiviews.Sorry if I do make Harry seem more than a little dense, but I guess it serves my purpose for now ; )
Chapter Four: Midnight Visitor
"What do you mean it involves Snape?" Harry said, cringing almost involuntarily.
It seemed that over the past six years he had wasted far too many waking hours being disgusted with Snape, and now he had to bother with him in his dreams now as well?
"I couldn't really be sure, but don't you think it makes sense?" Ginny said, sitting down next Harry on the lid of his trunk.
Harry inched over, putting more of a distance between them. For some reason, he felt uncomfortable when he and Ginny got too close.
"I don't think I'm following you." Harry said, trying to appear casual and unconcerned.
"First off Snape's gone missing." She said, slowly as if she was still thinking it through herself. "And it's a fair guess to say if he was still spying for us, he might have been discovered..."
"Or he might have switched sides." He said firmly, feeling a bit of satisfaction in the thought that Snape might actually turn out to be the oily snake that Harry always thought he was.
"I suppose." She said, not really convinced. "But what if he didn't, and he was caught spying..."
"Voldemort would kill him." Harry said emotionlessly.
"Maybe not straight off the bat the though. I don't think that's his style..."
"Since when are you the expert on Voldemort?" He asked, even though he knew she was right.
Ginny ignored his comment, but narrowed her eyes at him before continuing.
"What if Voldemort has Snape, and somehow you were seeing what was happening to him?" She said, taking a deep breath. "What if the person in your dream was Snape?"
Harry stared at her for a moment, before letting out a strangled laugh.
"Don't laugh at me!" Ginny protested. "We have to face the facts! The person in your dream could very well be Snape, we're pretty sure that Snape's in trouble..."
"Since when are we sure of that!" Harry shouted, cringing as the sound of his own voice echoed through the upstairs rooms.
If Ron was up here, there was no way that Ron could have missed that. The last thing Harry wanted to do was give Ron the satisfaction of thinking that Ginny was cross with him as well.
"Yeah, but its impossible." He added.
"Maybe not." Ginny said. "You were taking Occlumency lessons with him. He's been in your head enough times..."
"That was different." Harry said. "He was standing right in front of me, not miles away. And he wasn't shoving his thoughts into my mind, he was going through my memories."
Ginny looked unconvinced, but before she could say anything further there was a loud rapping knock at the door.
"Go away Ron!" Ginny shouted. "This doesn't involve you!"
As Harry frowned, Ron pushed open the door and forcefully stuck his head inside. He glared a Ginny for a moment, and getting his strength up he stepped into the room.
"Get out, I need to talk to Harry." Ron said, pushing Ginny towards the door.
Ginny scowled at him, but surprisingly she obeyed. Harry fought the urge to jump up and hold her back, because he had the feeling she was about to blab her theory about his dream to Hermione and half the order members as well.
"I can't spend the rest of my life avoiding you, so I might as well apologize." Ron grumbled. "I'm sorry I was being such a git yesterday, but you sort of deserved it."
Harry blinked at Ron for a minute, deciding this was probably the most mature apology he was going to get from his best friend anytime soon. He probably did deserve at least some of it anyway, he had made Ron worry enough.
"Yeah, alright." Harry said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
He wasn't quite ready to forgive Ron, but he figured it was close enough. Ron smiled in relief, and Harry found himself smiling a little bit as well. In spite of his protests Ginny had him nearly convinced that somehow he had been seeing what was happening to Snape, but now with the sleep cleared from his eyes and his best friend by his side again, he could push those thoughts back into the realm of the impossible.
---
The next morning Ginny mentioned nothing to Harry about his dream, although he suspected the issue was far from over. She informed Ron and Harry over a whispered breakfast that Snape was still missing, and followed this by a meaningful nod in Harry's direction. Ron rolled his eyes, Harry had filled him in the night before and he thought the entire thing was ridiculous.
Right after breakfast Harry and Ron pulled some of the quidditch equipment out of the shed, talking eagerly about the upcoming season as they worked. They barely even had a chance to get on their brooms before Mrs. Weasley came running out of the house, still in her robe and slippers.
"Ronald Weasley, get off of that broom this instant!" She shouted, looking ready to break Ron into a hundred little pieces.
"Why?" Ron shouted, hovering just of reach, hoping she didn't have her wand handy.
He didn't doubt that his mother would blow him right off his broom if she found reason enough. She would never let him get hurt of course, it was more the principal of the thing.
"I've spoken to your father, and we agreed that there is to be no more quidditch."
"What!" Ron shouted so violently he nearly fell of his broom.
Harry felt his face redden, because he had a feeling he was because Mrs. Weasley didn't want him out of sight. He knew Ron would never openly blame Harry, but he felt his stomach lurch at the thought anyway.
"It's too dangerous." Mrs. Weasley said, carefully avoiding Harry's gaze. "Besides, there's plenty to do around the house."
Ron looked like he was debating going off and playing anyway, but he knew Harry would never openly disobey his mother and come along. You couldn't really practice quidditch with just one person.
"Fine!" Ron shouted, dropping down to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. "You evil hag!"
Harry nearly choked, and had to struggle to keep his broom steady as he came down to a landing.
Ron spent the rest of the afternoon confined to his bedroom, after Mrs. Weasley had dragged him up by his ear. With quidditch gone from the picture and Ron punished, Harry was left with very little to do. He would have sought Ginny out for company, but he really didn't feel like bringing his dream up again. He spent the rest of the afternoon playing exploding snap by himself, and trying not to think about Sirius. When he had too much time on his hands it was easy to think backto that night, to replay it again and again in his mind. But if he tried too hard to avoid thinking about it, it made his stomach hurt.
Ron was allowed back down for dinner, but scowled the entire way through the meal. Mr. Weasley was stuck late the office, and Ginny was oddly silent. After dinner Harry retreated upstairs, to find Pig sitting on Ron's dresser with a note attached to his leg.
"Hey, its for you Harry." Ron said, turning the letter over in his hands before tossing it at Harry.
Harry sat on Ron's bed, and tore open the letter and stared down at the familiar handwriting.
Dear Harry,
I'm glad to hear that you and Ron and speaking again. I knew you would work things out. Before I say anything, Ginny wanted me to tell you not to be angry with her, she's only concerned about your safety.
Harry scowled at the letter before reading on.
She wrote me about the dream you had last night, and what she thought it meant. I have to say, I don't really agree with her. Although its not entirely impossible that you were seeing what Snape was experiencing, I think its very unlikely. Snape might be very skilled Occlumens, but I am almost positive that he would not be able to transplant his own memories or experiences into your mind without being in very close contact with you. I still think it is very important you tell the order about your dream, the sooner the better.
Besides that, try and have fun with Ron and relax. I wish I was there with you both. Don't forget that O.W.L. scores will be coming soon. Depending on which courses you're able to take, you might have some summer reading to do before classes start. You should buy the books right away, if you wait till the last minute you might now have enough time to finish everything. Maybe we can go on the same day and meet in Diagon Alley? Please write back when you have time.
-Hermione
"Ha!" Harry shouted, throwing the letter down into the bed in triumph.
Ron looked up, startled, and gave Harry a questioning look.
"Hermione thinks that Ginny's theory is rubbish." Harry said, feeling much better than he had all day.
He knew that Ginny must have been listening from her bedroom, because he heard her door slam before she ran across the hall and burst into Ron's bedroom.
"Don't you believe in knocking?" Ron asked, setting up his chessboard.
"I want to see it for myself!" Ginny protested.
Harry handed her the letter, which she snatched greedily from his hands. She scanned it quickly, her expression growing darker as she read. Finally, she shoved it back into his hands, frowning.
"Hermione isn't always right, you know." Ginny said, which caused Ron and Harry to immediately begin to laugh.
Ginny scowled at them both, and then disappeared into her room for the rest of the night. Neither boy made a great effort to seek her out, as both sensed that they had probably hurt her pride, and it was better to just let her be.
---
Harry had fallen asleep easily that night, but awoke a few scarce hours later to the sound an owl's deep hooting. At first the thought it was Hedwig, but when he rose to let her out of her cage he found her preening her feathers and looking entirely disinterested in him all together. Deciding that Ron must have forgotten to let pig out hunting, he crawled back into bed and tried to fall back asleep.
It seemed that nearly an hour passed, and Harry felt more awake then ever. In the darkness he had begun to think about Sirius again, and his throat was now dry and his stomach was tight. He wondered if there would ever be a time were he could remember his godfather without feeling so terribly sad and guilty. He tried to swallow the growing lump in his throat, but it burned with the effort.
Badly wanting a glass of water, Harry slid into his slippers and crept downstairs. He was surprised to find the hearth still lit and Mrs. Weasley still awake, even though it was close to midnight.
"Harry dear, why are you up so late." She asked, nearly jumping up from where she had sitting beside the fire.
She sounded agitated, and something in her voice made Harry hesitate at the foot of the stairs.
"I just want a glass of water." Harry said.
Mrs. Weasley nodded, and then turned away from him to peer out of the window. Harry watched her as he poured himself some water, and then drank it down in large breathless gulps. Several times she looked at him, and then back out the window again, before sitting back down rigidly onto her chair.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Harry asked, hoping that Mr. Weasley wasn't in any sort of trouble.
"Don't worry yourself Harry, go right on up..."
Mrs. Weasley was interrupted by the sound of loud crack in the garden, followed another softer popping sound. In an instant Harry was forgotten, as Mrs. Weasley crossed the room and threw open the door.
Outside it had begun to rain, though only lightly. Over Mrs. Weasley's shoulder Harry could see three figures moving towards him in the mist. It took him a moment to realize that one person was not walking, but rather being carried.
"Arthur..." Mrs. Weasley said, her voice catching in her throat.
Harry felt his body grow cold, what if something had happened to Mr. Weasley?
Then, as they stepped into the warm light spilling from the house, Harry realized that Mr. Weasley was not the one who was in trouble. He was standing beside Tonks, who had a smear of mud across her cheek. In between them they were half carrying, half levitating a seemingly lifeless body who Harry only recognized from his shoulder length dark hair, and his long black robes.
Harry looked once into Professor Snape's face, but had to look away again almost as quickly. He could recognize so little of his potions professor beneath the blood and bruises that he was not entirely convinced it was him until Mrs. Weasley spoke.
"Arthur, Tonks, get Severus inside. Are you sure you weren't followed?"
Harry stepped backwards sharply, and overturned a chair. It fell with a loud clatter, though neither Mr. Weasley or Tonks did anything more than glance hastily in his direction. A moment later he found himself being pushed upstairs by Mrs. Weasley, who had nearly forgotten that he was there.
"On to sleep now." Was all she said, before giving him a gentle but hurried shove towards the staircase.
Harry was not sure how she expected him to sleep after having his potions professor dragged into the burrow looking more dead than alive. A few moments after he crawled into bed he heard furniture being rearranged in Percy's old room across the hall. Fervent whispers followed, and the sound of more pairs of footsteps on the stairs.
He was positive that he heard Lupin's voice, but it was soon drown out as both Ron and Ginny came out of their rooms and were harshly sent back to bed.
Someone must have thought to cast a silencing charm, because after that Harry heard nothing but the sound of his own breathing.