Disclaimer: JKRowling owns Harry Potter and I just borrow it for mine and other's own enjoyment. I only own the plot and OC's of which there are none...yet.
A/N: Here's another chapter for those of you who asked for it. A lot happens in this chapter, and it's my longest yet, about 4,100 words! Would you rather me keep the chapters short and update more, or long and update less? It's up to you, the readers! Also please send me lot's of reviews because I'm really depressed with my life right now, and they would cheer me up. I play JV basketball and we've lost like 5 straight and we should have won all of them, and we have semester finals coming up and I'm just all stressed out. PLEASE Review and tell me how you like it, or give suggestions, because that's what will make me feel better and gives me ideas!
RonWeasley is MY King: Thanks for reviewing, friend! Glad you like it except for the Harry/Ginny part. But come on, Harry/Luna? Who wants to read that? J/K!!!
thephantom114: I love stories with Harry and Snape, too! That's why I am writing one. Sorry but in this chapter there isn't much with Snape, but hopefully in chapter 4 there will be. Thanks for reviewing and if you know any good Snape stories, please tell me!
Glenlightarrow: Sorry to leave you hanging! Thanks for reviewing, hope you like this chapter!!
CHAPTER THREE: THE FIRST BATTLE
Harry groaned as he started to wake up. His head hurt terribly and there was something very heavy resting directly on top of him, restricting his ability to breathe. He stopped struggling as he realized there was an intense fight going on around him. He could vaguely see the outline of a wizard, casting spells out the window and deflecting any that tried to come in. Harry assumed it was Snape. Harry did a banishment charm, hoping his wand was still in his hand, which by now, underneath what was his dresser, was turning very numb. Luckily, his wand was in his hand and the spell sent the dresser crashing into the wall next to him, causing the wall to cave into his closet.
Nursing his injured hand, Harry crawled over to the window and looked up at the wizard. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt. Where were Snape, Dumbledore and the rest of the Order? Shouldn't someone have come to help by now? Harry assumed it was the Death Eaters attacking.
"Sir! Are you alright?" Harry asked anxiously. On impulse, he jumped to his feet and started casting spells back into the daylight outside. He got a good look at the attackers, and it was indeed the Death Eaters. There were about ten on brooms and five on the ground.
"I'm alright, Harry," Shacklebolt gasped in exhaustion. "Get down!" A violet light shot over Harry just as he ducked down.
"Where's Dumbledore, Snape and the others?" Harry asked quickly when Shacklebolt leaned against the wall and took a quick breather as there was a pause in the fighting.
"Snape had to leave; he cannot be seen in company with you. I believe he apparated to You-Know-Who's Headquarters to be sure that they don't suspect him," Shacklebolt explained to Harry. "Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, Tonks, and Lupin are downstairs trying to strengthen the wards around the house. It looks like its no use, however; the Death Eaters outnumber us."
"Why can't we just apparate or portkey out of here?" Harry asked him.
"The Death Eaters placed an anti-apparition and anti-portus ward over the house. We are stuck," Shacklebolt told him blatantly.
"What about Snape, he apparated," Harry said, looking confused.
"He left before they set the wards up, it took them about three minutes and we couldn't transport you away while you were unconscious. It would have damaged you more or even killed you," Shacklebolt told him.
"Were you all here as a guard, or something?" Harry asked. It had just occurred to him that Moody, Tonks, Remus, and Shacklebolt weren't all here before.
"Yes, we were supposed to be your 'invisible' guard, you weren't supposed to know we were here," Shacklebolt sighed. "We better get downstairs with the others, you'll be safer there."
The tall, black man motioned to Harry and ducked down low to the floor. "You go ahead of me and cover in front, I'll get the back," he whispered as he motioned Harry quickly forward.
Harry crawled through the door to his bedroom and scanned the hallway and adjacent rooms. Nothing. "All good so far," he whispered back to Shacklebolt.
They reached the stairway in the center of the hall and as Shacklebolt was checking the hallway window for any activity, Harry peeked over the banister at the scene below. Moody, Dumbledore, and Lupin were sitting in a circle with their wands touching in the middle, seemingly entranced. Harry could see their lips moving as they chanted a charm, as a bright blue light was radiating from the center of the wands. Tonks was at the base of the kitchen table, looking feverishly through a thick book. She was muttering and running her hands through her hot pink hair wildly as she frantically turned the pages.
As Shacklebolt came back towards him, Harry asked, "What are they doing?"
"They are trying to reinforce the wards that were placed around the house when you came to live here. For some reason, the wards have been fading the past few months, and Dumbledore doesn't know why. Then You-Know-Who found out and just now decided to break through. It's lucky all of us were here at the time," Shacklebolt explained to Harry quietly as they watched the work going on down below.
"What's Tonks doing?" Harry asked, trying not to laugh as she started tearing through the pages frantically.
"Trying to find the reason why he is breaking through the wards, and how he's doing it. No one has done it before. She's also looking for any spells that could be used to reinforce it. The one Dumbledore, Moody, and Lupin are doing right now only puts up a temporary shield that will last about 30 minutes." Harry was now mad at himself for thinking something so serious was funny.
Shacklebolt seemed satisfied with their surroundings and motioned Harry down the stairs. As he reached the bottom, Harry spared a glance out the kitchen window and was horrified at what he saw. Strewn across the lawn between Number 3 and 4 Privet drive were the bodies of about seven people. Almost mangled beyond recognition, Harry recognized the gray hair of Mrs. Figg and her cat, Mr. Tibbles. Mrs. Figg had been a squib who lived across the street. Never meaning anybody harm, Mrs. Figg loved her cats and was checked up on Harry for Dumbledore. Harry felt a lump in his throat.
A few feet from Mrs. Figg lay a woman and man who Harry assumed were the next door neighbors. Their three children lay a few feet away and a man Harry didn't recognize lay face down next to a tree. There were more Death Eaters at the end of the street keeping it clear from onlookers and the muggle police, who had just arrived to discover the cause of the explosion heard earlier. Harry turned away in disgust and horror as the Death Eaters slaughtered people standing and watching on the street. The police fired a few shots at the hooded figures, but were cut down by the Killing Curse a few seconds later as their shots were deflected by a shield conjured by the Death Eaters.
Harry turned to the adults assembled in the room, who by now had finished their charm and were looking at him sadly. "What are you doing?!?!?!?!" he screamed at them, disgusted that no one was helping the poor people outside. "They need help!"
"Harry, there is nothing we can do from in here," Lupin explained patiently, his face drawn with exhaustion and worry. "We all wish we could help too, don't you see what it's doing to us to stay in here, knowing we can't help them?" Harry looked at Lupin closely for the first time since he had seen him after school was out. His hair looked like it had grayed since Harry had last seen him, and he had more wrinkles on his face and dark bags under his eyes.
He wasn't the only one either. All of them looked worse then when he had last seen them. Tonks' normally bright attitude seemed dimmed, and her hair wasn't as bright a bubble-gum pink as it usually was. Shacklebolt looked exhausted, and he seemed to have shrunk since Harry had last seen him. Dumbledore looked the best, he never seemed to change. His hair was a bit longer and unkempt looking, and it looked as if he had aged a bit, but the thing Harry really noticed as missing was the normal twinkle in Dumbledore's bright blue eyes. This worried Harry more than he thought it would.
"Ok," said Harry, taking a deep, calming breath. "I'm sorry; I know you would if you could. Now, what are we going to do?"
Moody and Dumbledore looked at each other and Dumbledore shook his head almost imperceptibly and Moody sighed. Outside, the yelling from the Death Eaters grew louder as a blue dome burst into sight, surrounding the house with its shield. The Death Eaters were growing closer to bringing it down.
"What?" Harry almost shouted, before calming himself quickly. It would do no good to lose his head in a tight situation. "Why'd you shake your head?" he asked Dumbledore quietly.
Moody responded for Dumbledore who was shaking visibly. "There is no way we can all get out of here, Harry. The only way to get out is by performing a complex group travel spell, which requires a powerful witch or wizard casting the spell over the group," there was a pause as his voice shook gruffly. "Which means that one of us has to stay here."
There was pause as Harry realized the full meaning of Moody's words. One of them would have to stay and fight the Death Eaters alone. In other words, someone had to sacrifice themselves.
"No, I will not allow it!" Harry said forcefully. "We will NOT leave anyone behind!" Moody shrugged his jacket off and was rolling up his sleeves. Lupin was hanging it over a hanger in the front hallway closet. "No, Professor Moody, don't do this, there must be some other way!" Harry felt tears streaming down his face. Someone else was going to die, because of him. Already dozens of people had died and it was all his fault.
"I still have a chance, Potter, I have taken on 12 Death Eaters single-handedly and defeated them all before and the aurors will be here soon. Help is coming," Moody steeled himself, looking resolute as his magical eye spun all around the house, checking the shield to make sure they still had time. "Besides, I'm old, the rest of you are young, except Dumbledore that is, and you need him. A bit of advice before you leave, don't leave your wand in your back pocket, better wizards then you have lost their buttocks because of that. And remember: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Tonks gave a sob and ran over and hugged the old gnarly auror. Dumbledore, Lupin, and Shacklebolt all shook his hand and quietly said a few words in the corner as Tonks comforted Harry who was now lying on the floor beneath the table, tears streaming down his face. Moody was a valued member of the Order and a good friend to all of them.
Harry felt strong arms lifting him up, setting him on his feet. He wobbled, steadied himself, and opened his eyes. He ran to Moody, gave him a brief, gruff hug and whispered, "I'm sorry it had to be this way, I hope you get through."
Tonks pulled him out of Moody's embrace and told him, "Get your wand out and touch the centers of our wands with it. Concentrate very hard on Dumbledore's office and close your eyes. You will feel a slight lurch, but it's not like traveling by floo powder or portkey, it's much smoother. When Moody says Viajan, we will start to travel, so don't jerk or move or you will be splinched," she motioned to the others and they moved into a circle and touched wands at the center. "Ready?" With nods all around, she told Moody, "Go for it Mad-Eye, we'll see you soon," she averted her eyes from Moody's afraid that she would see him for the last time.
Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on Dumbledore's paintings and various possessions that sit on his desk. "Concentrate harder!" He heard Moody cry. His thoughts turned to Fawkes and the sorting hat. All of a sudden Harry felt a power surge through the group and Moody said the spell. "Portus Ahora Viajan!"
Harry felt a slight lurch and concentrated on not moving and Dumbledore's office. All of a sudden he hit the ground and tumbled over into Tonks, who was right beside him. His head hit something hard and he felt his glasses break and for the second time that day, Harry lost consciousness.
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"Stop yelling, you'll wake him up!" Harry lay in a soft bed, with his eyes closed, listening to the conversation around him, trying to figure out where he was. He knew Dumbledore was there, along with Snape, McGonagall and Tonks. He thought he recognized some other voices but couldn't quite place them in the five minutes he had been eavesdropping.
"I think he's waking!" Harry thought that was McGonagall. He had stirred and now that they had noticed, he might as well get up. Harry squinted his eyes and turned his head. A burst of pain went through his skull, causing him to cry out.
"Sh…don't move Harry, you got a nasty bump on your head that needs healing still," Tonks told him brightly.
"Where am I?" Harry asked groggily, trying to sound as if he had just woken up.
"In the hospital wing at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore, coming to the side of Harry's bed. "Unfortunately, you fell and bumped your head on my desk when we were transported back to my office. On top of that, your dresser fell earlier in the fight and did a job to the back of your head. You have had two concussions in about 2 hours, which is not very good at all."
While Harry had been blacked out, he had dreamt about the fight, as well as casting the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange again. He was so confused as to why he kept dreaming about it. Didn't he want to get over it and stop reliving the moments after Sirius had died? The dreams were only fueling Harry's hate of Bellatrix and he wanted revenge more and more with each dream.
Harry then realized that everyone was looking at him concernedly, all except perhaps Snape, who was determinedly staring out the window next to his bed. "What happened after we got back? Is Moody ok? Is everyone else ok? What day is it?" Harry asked these questions as he hurriedly tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Remus as he started to sway.
"Not now, Harry," Remus said quietly. "You need your rest, and we need ours, it's been a long week.
"I need to know!" Harry said feebly, but even as he said it, everything was starting to go gray, and Tonks called Madam Pomfrey over.
"That's good then, now we can heal his head properly," she said, bustling over to the potion cabinet. "Professor, would you like to help me?" She asked Professor Snape.
"Of course, I would be delighted," he responded sounding more then delighted to help one of his favorite…er…least favorite students.
Harry tried to protest, but was sent back into the world of dark dreams.
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He was again in the Atrium to the Ministry of Magic, and he was about to curse Lestrange again. Harry tried to stop himself, but to no avail. As he shouted "Crucio!" and a bright light sprouted from his wand, he was transported to a green, grassy field, filled with white and yellow flowers. There was a deer grazing by the small, sparkling blue pond in the middle, and a familiar-looking red-haired girl sitting under the tree. She motioned to Harry, who went to her and sat down beside her under the shady tree.
"Ginny? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused.
"It's your dream, silly, you have whoever you want in your dreams," she told him, laughing at the look on his face.
"Well, I was having a dream about casting the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange, and never before has it reverted to another dream," Harry said, still confused.
"Well, what's happened since you last had the dream to cause this to happen?" she questioned him.
"Nothing?" Harry said.
"What do you mean nothing?" Ginny said indignantly. "You call getting in a fight with Death Eaters nothing? Did Moody die in vain, Harry? Are you just going to forget that so soon?"
"How do you know Moody died?" said Harry skeptically. "I don't know that, and if you're just a figment of my imagination you wouldn't know either."
Ginny looked unsure of herself as she answered, "Well, I'm just guessing he did, as you are guessing he likely did." She sighed with what Harry thought relief.
"That still doesn't say why you're in my dream," Harry said disdainfully. He was starting to get suspicious. Why did his other dream stop abruptly? Why was he in a green field with Ginny? Perhaps Voldemort had entered his mind again.
"Well, if you don't want me here, I'll leave," responded Ginny heatedly to his suspicious glances. She got up and stomped off towards the pond and disappeared into thin air.
Harry slumped against the tree and closed his startling green eyes. He shouldn't have gotten all angry at her; she was only trying to help. But it was a dream, so he shouldn't care about what happened; it wasn't real.
"Harry! Wake up Harry!," a familiar voice called out to Harry. It sounded remarkably like Sirius. Harry didn't dare get his hopes up. He had just started to really believe Sirius was dead.
"HARRY!" The voice was getting closer and sounded more like the person Harry had been missing terribly. He opened his eyes slowly, hoping against hope it was who he thought it was.
He was still in his dream and there, standing above him and casting Harry into shadow was his godfather. He looked as good as Harry remembered. The only difference was the silver light emanating from him as if he were the sun.
"Sirius?" Harry asked quietly. "Is that you? Truly you?" The older man squatted down besides Harry and grinned, running his hand through is hair.
"It's me alright, Harry! Here, talking to you like I was still alive!"
That was it then. It was all just a dream, he wasn't alive. He had seen Sirius fall through the veil himself. How could he have thought he'd still be alive? Harry turned away gruffly, not wanting to be reminded of his godfather. Why did his dreams do this to him? Torture him with the things he didn't want to remember?
Sirius was astonished by his godson's actions. He had thought Harry would be overjoyed to see him even though he wasn't alive anymore.
"Harry, listen to me. I'm still me. I may not have a physical body on the earth, but I am still alive in spirit, able to talk to you and help you through your life," Sirius said, not liking the response he was getting from Harry, which was, in fact, no response at all. "I'm still your godfather, Harry, and a charm like the one Lily cast on me isn't one that dies with the death of the person that was charmed."
Sirius was crestfallen when Harry still didn't respond. He had thought that mentioning the charm Lily had placed on him would change Harry's attitude. He made up his mind to tell his story from start to finish, whether Harry listened or not.
Sirius Black settled himself down with his back against the tree next to Harry, who inched around to the other side of the tree, not even glancing at Sirius, his eyes tightly closed while mumbling underneath his breath.
Sirius sighed and started talking. "You were born, Harry, at the height of the first war. Before your birth, your parents defied Voldemort three times in their work as aurors. They also captured numerous Death Eaters and were very much wanted by Voldemort. I also believe since Voldemort is a fan of Salazar Slytherin who had started to fight with Godric Gryffindor when they ran the school, Voldemort wants to kill the remaining descendants of Gryffindor. And that was the Potter's and Longbottom's. When the prophecy was made, Dumbledore of course told your parents and the Longbottom's at once. Both families had been considering going into hiding for some time now, and this made it all the more urgent," Sirius snuck a peek around the tree to see if his godson was listening yet. He wasn't. Sirius steadied himself and forced himself to go on.
"They both used the Fidelius Charm, but other protections were needed in case they were betrayed or it didn't work. They also put an extra protection on you, Harry, in case something happened to them, leaving you with no parents. This was the Padrinos charm, or godfather charm."
Harry perked up a little at this. He had been willing himself to wake up, and get out of this dream. He thought it was just a fabrication Voldemort had planted in his head, like the one of the DoM, but he didn't know why. But now it didn't sound as if Voldemort would make this all up, it was all too complicated. Harry opened his eyes and decided to let Sirius finish.
"This charm is placed on two people; the godfather and his godson. It can only be cast by the parents of the child so as to not cause the charm to be abused. This charm links the two together, causing a bond that can never be broken. From the point the charm was cast and on, the godfather replaces the parents if they die. All magical parents have a way to tell if their children are in danger or unwell, an instinct if you will," Sirius paused to catch his breath before continuing on. "At their death, this instinct is passed on to the godfather, if the charm was cast at birth. Now you might ask why I never realized you were in danger while I was in Azkaban. The only weakness in the charm is that it is based on love and happy memories; the two things that dementors suck out of you. So when I was in Azkaban I couldn't sense when you were in danger. And while I was a dog I could received weak signals from you, but could never tell just how much in danger you were or do anything to help you," Sirius stopped to see how Harry was taking it and to see if he was even listening yet. Harry had snuck back around the tree and was staring at Sirius.
"Sirius, what did your friends call you?" Harry asked Sirius, who looked confused by the question but answered anyway.
"Padfoot," he said quietly. "You know that."
Harry thought a moment, then asked another question. "What did you find Kreacher doing to your father's trousers one day last summer?"
Sirius laughed and realized Harry was only suspicious that it wasn't really him. "He was snogging a pair of them!"
Harry and Sirius burst out laughing at the memory. "Ok, I believe you now Sirius. Please keep on with your story. I'm sorry I didn't believe you before," Harry said, apologizing profusely.
"Ok, I'm glad, I didn't think you were going to come around there for a while," Sirius said, giving his godson a hug. "On with the story. So this charm that was placed on us has connected us with a bond. When the parents die, the bond and instinct pass on to the godfather. When the godfather dies, because yes, Harry, I did die when I passed beyond the veil, then the godfather can come back to his godson in his dreams and communicate with him whenever he wants. It will be like having someone inside your head giving you advice. I won't be there always but when you need me, just say in your head, 'Help me Padfoot,' and I will be there."
"That's great!" said Harry enthusiastically, but then his face fell. "It's still not like if you were alive, Sirius. I'm so sorry."
"Harry," Sirius said, wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulders, "It's not your fault, we should have told you Voldemort would try to send you dreams. And if it was anyone's fault it would be mine. I didn't tell Kreacher what exactly not to say."
"Whatever you say, it's still my fault," Harry said stubbornly.
"No it's not Harry. Now, I think you've been asleep for long enough and you should probably go back to the real world. Time goes faster in dreams. I'll see you tonight when you go to sleep, or if you're in trouble, just call," Sirius said.
"One last question, Sirius!" Harry shouted out as he started to fade out of the dream. "Why was Ginny in my dream before you?" The green tree, field, pond and Sirius were very blurred now, and Harry could barely hear Sirius' reply.
"You have to figure that out on your own, Harry! Goodbye!" And with that, Sirius turned into a dog and padded away towards the blue, sparkling pond, leaving Harry fuming at his lack of an answer. Then everything went black and Harry could hear voices coming from the hospital wing of Hogwarts.
A/N: Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!