CHAPTER EIGHT: MY SACRIFICE

Harry skipped across the field towards a bubbling brook past a rolling hill. Harry stopped, suddenly confused, though he still bobbed up and down as the rolling hill continued to roll. He didn't skip. Since when did he skip? Shrugging, he continued to skip on, feeling a light sense of buoyancy. A stopped again. Why was he happy? Everyone was dying, weren't they? Giggling to himself, Harry skipped on, deep within though, he was alarmed at the fact that he had just giggled.

Harry Potter was dreaming. For at times, in your dreams, you have lucid moments where you can tell that the events happening in your dreams aren't exactly the way they should be happening. But at the same time as you are aware that certain things shouldn't be happening, there's a feeling that things are absolutely as they should be as well. Skipping away, Harry understood this and allowed himself to giggle once more.

Around and around the Burrow he skipped, wondering how on earth it had grown back so fast after it was just burnt – or rather exploded – the night before. Harry shrugged again and knew that it just must and breathed a sigh of relief as he finally made his way to the babbling brook. Playfully it splashed against rocks and the side of the bank as it made its way merrily down in a stream of bubbling water.

Harry dropped to his knees and leaned out over the bank, wanting to catch a glimpse of his reflection. Yes, there it was right there, rippling and dancing in the water, his reflection, complete with unruly black hair and zig-zagging scar. He rested his elbows on the soft mossy bank and then rested his chin in his palms. He quite liked the look of his reflection. He decided that he would stay here for hours and hours. Except what was that way down there? Harry leaned further down, straining his eyes so much so that his reflection got curious and turned around to see what all the fuss was about.

There shining and blinking in the murky water was a bright silver compact. Furrowing his brow in confusion, Harry dipped his head straight into the water for a better look. Recognizing the compact that Sirius had given him, he reached out a hand and decided that he needed to look at it more closely.

Harry was sitting cross-legged, with his back resting on the big tree that stood at the edge of the Giant Squid's lake. He glanced around marvelling at how beautiful Hogwart's was and wondering where the rolling hills had gone when he remembered that he was holding the shining compact in his hand.

Cheerfully he opened the compact and was neither stunned nor surprised when Sirius' face smiled back at him. Dropping the compact as if this was the most natural thing in the world to do, he watched, though not in dismay as the mirror cracked. Light began to spill forth from the shards and in a few moments, Sirius lifted himself up from the broken glass and waved a cheery hello to Harry. Though he was neither stunned nor surprised moments before, Harry now stared in awe and wonderment at his smiling Godfather before him. How was this possible?

Hello my friend we meet again
It's been awhile, where should be begin?
Feels like forever
Within my heart a memory
A perfect love that you gave to me
Oh, I remember…

As Harry told himself that Sirius was dead, quite suddenly he felt a jolt and looked down to see his Firebolt below him and he glanced sideways to where Sirius flew jauntily beside him on his own Cleansweep. 'Well now, that's odd,' Harry thought to himself. 'Cleansweeps don't really fly that fast.' His Godfather waved and signalled and soon they were landing and Harry looked around instantly recognizing that they were in Hogsmeade.

When you are with me, I'm free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others, we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice

Harry was drowning. Deeper and deeper he sank into dark oblivion, struggling to breathe but only inhaling water. Light danced before his eyes and his head felt as if it were about to explode. Suddenly, he felt a hand at the neck of his shirt and felt an almighty yank as he erupted at the surface of the sea.

But there he was once again in the babbling brook with rolling hills surrounding him. Once again, he felt himself being tugged and up onto the bank the next instant is where he found himself.

"Harry."

Harry turned now fully aware that things weren't the way they ought to be. He stopped short as he saw Sirius once again walking towards him. 'It's another dream' Harry thought to himself, tears prickling his eyelids. How cruel it was to dream of things so realistically that it truly felt that Sirius had been with him, laughing and flying around. For that could not have possibly been true, now that Harry had his wits about him. Sirius was dead. He had disappeared behind the veil and he would never again come back from it.

"It is me, Harry. I'm here." Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and though Harry felt it as sure as if someone had pinched him, at the same time it also felt like it wasn't really there at all. 'I'm dreaming,' he told himself firmly.

"You are dreaming, but it's a different kind of dream. I gave it to you." Sirius said staring earnestly into Harry's eyes, willing him to believe. Harry stared and there he saw it, the laughter dancing in his Godfather's eyes as well as the haunted look that had been instilled by his time in Azkaban. It was Sirius.

Reaching out, he threw himself shamelessly into his Godfather's arms and wept. Finally, they pulled apart and sat down, eagerly facing each other.

We've seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around, in an instant
It feels so good to realize
What's in yourself and within your mind
Let's find peace there

"Dark times are ahead, Harry," Serious said gravely, looking intently upon Harry. "You know the prophecy, you know what you have to do. I'm only sorry that I can't be there right beside you for when that time comes."

Harry once again felt the undeniable burden as he always did whenever the prophecy was mentioned.

"What do I do, Sirius? How can I possibly stand a chance against Voldemort?" Harry cried desperately.

"You'll find it, Harry. Your Mum and Dad, they told me that you will. They left you with a lot more than you know," Sirius told him knowingly.

Harry started. "Mum and Dad? What, you've seen them?" he cried, leaning forward eagerly. "Why didn't they come here with you?" he demanded suddenly realizing that they had never once entered his dreams.

"Harry, it's different. I died after I disappeared from the veil, I had no choice and could not cross over back into the world again. Lily and James, when they were killed it's a different matter. They had no choice because they by-passed even the veil. They're in a place where I can reach but cannot stay and I am in a place where they cannot reach at all. That's the mystery of the veil. I exist in two planes of the undead where your Mum and Dad can only exist in one. That's why I was able to come here. Because I exist in a plane, let's call it limbo for right now, I was granted this final wish before I crossed over into the place where your Mum and Dad and everyone else who's died exist. I cannot come back into the real world, but in the dream world, I can take shape, if only for a little while. And I chose to come back into your dream, Harry." Sirius said this all quite quickly and Harry took a few moments to go back over his words, processing them, trying to understand.

Before he could open his mouth again, Sirius leaned forward his words urgent. "I don't have much more time, but it's important that you understand what I have to say. Once this is over, I can never come back to you in any kind of dream. This is our last chance together, you and I facing each other. But I've come to help you. You need to go back to Godric's Hollow. Look to where your parents rest. They've left you some things that will help you and then go back to Dumbledore's office for what I have left you. The time has come for you to have it and you'll know how to use it."

Harry nodded frantically, trying to absorb everything that Sirius had been saying. More frantic he grew when Sirius' form began to take a glowing effect and he realized that they're time together was almost up.

"The dream you had before, I wanted you to have that so that we could have one last fun adventure together. We flew together and laughed together, that's all I wanted. But now, because we didn't get a chance to do it before, it really is time to say goodbye. I came back one last time and got what I wanted," Sirius' voice was now sounding distant and tinny, echoing through Harry's ears.

I just want to say hello again
I just want to say hello again

"But Sirius," Harry called out desperately, "What did Dumbledore leave for me? You've seen him, haven't you?"

Sirius paused and turned, confusion marring his glowing form before he vanished completely. "What do you mean? Dumbledore isn't here, Harry."