Here's chapter five, and I'd like to take the time to say that filler sucks. Yes, it's horrible and stuffy... But it makes the story what it is, and I suppose it's not so horrible. It's hard to think up, that's for sure. And a tad boring. Yeah... All right, I think I'm done rambling now. Oh, and thanks to bosquito mosquito who, through the striving efforts of her OCD-incduced ... um... thing... has shown me that when I don't pay attention, I make mistakes... I'm such a loser... Thanks, bos! I always knew you were awesome! Heeheehee. Hmm... Maybe I should get a beta or something. Or actually proof-read. That might help.

Disclaimer: You guessed it, I still don't own them. Oh well. A girl can dream, can't she?

Warnings: None really.

Chapter 5 - The Cold

Harry sat in the living room, beaming around at the gathering of family and friends. It was a calm Saturday morning. The sun was shinning, everyone was happy. These were the kind of days he lived for. He couldn't imagine life without these kinds of days. Life just wouldn't be worth it if there was no family, no friends, no happy to enjoy summer days with. No laughter? No joking? No lazy days? How horrible would life be without those things? He couldn't even begin to imagine. He didn't want to.

He went to get the door when the buzzer rang. No sooner than the door was opened, he was pulled into the strong and loving arms of his godfather, Sirius Black. More laughter - his, Sirius's, Remus's. That warm, fuzzy feeling in him felt so good. He returned Sirius's hug, then hugged Remus. They usually came around every weekend for dinner.

Lily and James were hosting a cook-out that Saturday. It was a bit crowded, but nice. Sirius and Remus moved out into the backyard to say their hellos to James, Lily and little Jason. Harry went over to Ron, who was helping Hermione with the veggie trays. He smiled at them both. 'Today is a good day,' he decided to himself.

Molly Weasley was bustling around after poor Tonks, cleaning up the mess in the young woman's clumsy wake. The three chuckled. Things had livened up when Tonks had returned, and she was definately keeping everyone busy. Especially poor Charlie, who - on returning for early break from college in Africa, where he was training to work with animals of the "large and exotic" persuasion - was desperately vying for her attention. Tonks was playing coy, though. It appeared that the second-eldest Weasley son would have his work cut out for him.

"This is a really nice party, Harry," Hermione said. "Your parents are really good hosts. It's great that we can all get together like this. Yup, great. Really, really great."

"What's wrong with you," asked Ron, giving her the once-over. "You're acting a little nutters..."

"Nothing's wrong! I'm fine... Promise. Just... I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. Cramming for a test and all that."

Harry and Ron exchanged looks as Hermione craned her neck out the backdoor. She had never been good at "playing it cool." Their friend was looking for someone... And as if she'd heard their thoughts, she snapped at them.

"I am not looking for anyone!"

"No one said you were, Hermy..."

They decided the best approach would be to back away slowly. If they did, they might not lose any limbs. There really was something going on with Hermione, but she wouldn't talk until she was ready. Until then, they would give her her space. Hermione was a stubborn girl. They wouldn't get anything from her until she was ready to volunteer it.

The two of them grabbed the veggie trays, then proceeded outside. The adults were mingling in the backyard around the grill, the food table, the patio. Sirius and James were horsing around near the grill just like the brothers they were to one another. Harry sat the tray down then looked at Ron with a smile. Ron smiled back. Everything was so wonderful that day... There was something in him, something deep down and hidden was telling him to cherish every minute of this. Something in him knew that soon, it was going to come to an end. The thought made him shudder.

"Something wrong, Harry?" Ron looked deep into those emerald eyes. Harry just shook his head.

"No... Just got a little chill."

His attention was pulled to a movement he saw out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see better. A black, hooded figure was standing under the weeping willow tree a few yards away. Red eyes glowed from under the hood. Cold ran through Harry's entire body. He knew that figure... It haunted his nightmares every night.. But how could he be there, in the daytime, when Harry was most certainly not dreaming? Slowly, the figure started raising his hand.

"No..." Harry whispered. He saw the wand becoming visible as the sleeve fell back. It was pointed right at his happy, smiling parents. His parents who were his life and so unaware of what was happening. "No... It can't be..."

"Harry? What's wrong," Ron asked. He was shaking Harry's shoulder, but the black-haired teen was paying him no mind. Harry's eyes were fixed solely on the person under the tree. Instinctively, his hand reached for the waistband of his jeans, groping for something... something... his wand, but it wasn't there. He reached for his back pockets. Emptyhanded again. Time was running short. He felt panic start rising in him.

"He's going to kill them..."

"Who, Harry? Who's going to kill who?"

Those red eyes met Harry's across the distance. Harry felt his breathing hitch. The cold in him grew and grew, spreading out through his whole body. The high-pitched laughter rang in his head. His forehead ached. The laughter grew louder. The cold was all-consuming.

Harry could feel the hands at his neck again. That familiar feeling of strangling returned, this time though, it wasn't a dream. His face constrewed in pain as his neck started collapsing. Breath became harder and harder to draw until it was impossible. Lungs started screaming for oxygen, but they wouldn't be satisfied. There was no oxygen for them. His windpipe was caving in. This was the end... again.

"Harry? HARRY!"

The world grew dark. Harry could feel himself falling, eternally falling. There was no ground anymore. There wasn't anything, but that shrill laughter and the cold. Harry vaguely wondered if what he was feeling was death...

NO! His mind rebelled. NO! YOU CAN'T BE DEAD! GET UP, HARRY, YOU IDIOT BOY! GET UP NOW!

Can't, Harry replied calmly to his raging mind. I must be dead. Can't get up if I'm dead.

GET UP NOW!

His mind wouldn't be ignored. It pushed him, prodded him, shoved him towards a light. The light was warm. Slowly, he reached out for it, only to find that it was just out of his reach. That voice in his head kept urging him on towards that light. It just wouldn't let him alone until he got to that light. That light was all-important to it. Harry was tired, he wanted to rest, but it kept pushing him towards that light. He had to reach it at all costs.

Finally, the light grew. It exploded into a million little glowing orbs and danced around Harry most pleasently. His mind sighed, relieved it had done it's job. The little lights slowly started glowing brighter and brighter. They expanded into one big light again, and then swallowed him whole.

There were voices above him. They were so familiar... but he couldn't place them... His eyes opened to blurry vision. He reached around for his glasses, finally putting them on his face when he found them. His parents, Sirius, Remus, and Ron came into his immediate veiw. Inwardly, he groaned. They looked so worried for him. He could sense other people in the room. No doubt they were worried about him as well.

"Hey, Harry," his dad said, his tone one would use on a sickly child. "Are you feeling okay? You gave us all quite a turn."

"I'm fine. What happened?" His fuzzy mind was slowly putting all the pieces together. He remember the cold, and the laughter... Who had been laughing? Then it clicked. Voldemort. Voldemort had been there, at the cook-out, somehow strangling him. He bolted upright.

His father and Sirius pushed him back into a laying position on the couch. He struggled against them. They didn't know. They hadn't seen him. Harry had to stop him before bad things started happening.

"You need to rest, Harry," Sirius told him. "You passed out. Now, please rest!"

"No, I can't! He's here! I have to stop him!"

"Ron, take Harry upstairs to his room, please," pleaded Lily. Ron nodded. Very carefully, he draped his friend's arm over his shoulders, hoisted Harry up, and helped him up the stairs with Harry protesting the whole way. He laid the wriggling Harry down on his bed and sat with him. Harry sank into a stormy mood.

"What's wrong, mate?"

"Nothing," Harry said. "Just a little dizzy." He turned away from Ron.

Ron got up to leave. He was worried about his friend, and hurt by Harry's show of indifference towards him. They had always been there for one another. Always. And now, when it seemed like Harry was starting to need him most, the green-eyed boy was pushing him away. It hurt him to see Harry distressed. He reached for the doorknob.

"Ron?"

"Yeah, Harry?"

"... Stay with me? Please?"

"All right, Harry."

The red-head walked back to his friend. Harry scooted over to one edge of the bed, making room for Ron. He smiled up at his long-time friend as Ron sat down beside him. Ron put a hand on Harry's arm.

"Get some rest, Harry. I'll stay with you."

Harry closed his eyes with a smile. He could feel Ron's warmth beside him, and it was comforting. Slowly, he began to drift off to sleep. He wasn't afraid of sleep this time. With Ron by his side, he wasn't afraid of anything.

Author's Response

emuerz: I'm here to please.

bosquito mosquito: Remus and Sirius are my absolute favorite ship of all time. They're just so perfect together. The last two Maurauders, finding comfort in one another... -drool- Yes, it's just so perfect. I'm glad you can agree with me. If Remus owned a coffee shop in my town, I'd be there every day just to drool over him. Coffee would be nice, but he'd be better. Hahaha, okay, I'm getting carried away, but I'm sure everyone else agrees with me. He's just too seczay. Sirius too. A petition is a good idea. Or you could bring it up to the council or something. It'll be all fun and involved and stuff. Lemme know how that one goes, okay? Um... I dunno, you'll just have to read and find out. I'm not going to say either way. Yeah, it would be pretty cool, wouldn't it? Lmao, okay, I won't name her Lynn. I had a different idea for the shrink. Much different idea. But that's also something else everyone will have to wait to find out about. Thank you for the help. I hate spelling errors... I've got slight OCD tendencies sometimes, so I know what it's like. Thankies so much! I know... I can't write long chapters... Gah, I suck so bad... Oh well, at least the ones I do write at a decent length are pretty good. Aww... No bonus points for me... I don't even know what Superfudge is... Damnit, now I feel like I'm missing something... Anywho, I'm going to end this now before it gets longer than the chapter. xx Heeheehee.