Basic Idea (c) to J.K. Rowlings.
Hogwarts, and everything that has to do with it (c) J.K. Rowlings.
Original Characters (c) Riven
Plot and Story (c) Riven

How about we just jump right into the story. I don't think you really need an intro, this will be probably be the last one I do. Unless things start to get confusing. So well...go read, that's why your here isn't it?

Harry awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. The day seemed like it was going to be a good one. He instantly shook his head at the thought. It was summer and he was at the Dursleys, a good day was impossible. A loud bang came from the window and Harry jumped up with surprise. A great barn owl was holding Hedwig up on one side. Harry's eyes widened in shock. He jumped up quickly and threw open the great doors, so much for the great day.

He laid Hedwig out on the bed and gave the barn owl some water and food. Hedwig was hooting quietly, trying to get Harry's attention. He turned back towards her and petted her soft white head absent-mindly.

"Who did this to you Hedwig? Did you deliver the letter?" He asked quickly, remembering why she had been out in the first place. She just gave a short defeated "hoot" then fell silent and fast asleep. Harry's heart started pounding harder and harder. She needed medical attention, magical medical attention. He could take the Knight bus, but her wing could end up even more damaged. The only other option he held was his broom. And since he didn't know where exactly to take her, he chose the Knight Bus.

Harry gathered her up in his arms and turned around to make sure the other owl left. It was still there. He saw that Harry had finally turned his attention back to him and held out his leg. Attached was a fat letter with a picture of a dog and a large R.L. He gave the owl a small sympathetic smile, unattached the letter and sent him on his way. He shoved the letter in his pocket and ran out the door with Hedwig firmly clutched to his chest.

The three Dursley's were in the kitchen eating breakfast when he threw himself through the door.

"I'm leaving." Was all he said before turning to head out the front door.

"Potter, get back here!" Uncle Vernon shouted after him. With a slight sigh, Harry looked back at the doorway expecting to see the frame of Vernon come shooting through. When he didn't appear Harry raised an eyebrow and walked back through the door.

"I don't have all day, what do you want?" Harry said through a yawn.

"You will if I say you do! Where are you going?" Vernon fired back.

"Since when do you care where I'm at, as long as I'm not within your sight?" He asked in an impatient voice.

"I don't care, but seeing as how your aunt has made some sort of promise, she needs to know." He said quietly with a hint of purple appearing near his hairline.

"Right. My owl is hurt. Goodbye." Harry said before turning again and walking out the front door.

Harry walked around till he was in the darkest part of the tunnel, as dark as it could be at seven thirty in the morning. He held out his wand and waited to hear the bus come crashing through the tunnel. Within record speed it had pulled up and stopped in front of him. The familiar pimply face appeared where a door had been moment ago.

"'ello there Harry. Would you like a seat up front, in the back, or upstairs today? Hot Chocolate? It's only three sickles today!" Ernie said with a wide smile.

"Oh, I think upfront will be fine. How many do you have on here right now? My owl is hurt; I really need to get her to a pet shop. Preferably the one in Diagon Alley, that's where she came from after all. Is that where you take sick owls? I don't even know..." He trailed off into silence.

"We only have two stops before Diagon Alley. That's where my brother always takes his owl, so I'm guessing it'll be okay. We'll be there shortly. Climb onboard. Did you say you wanted Hot Chocolate?"

"That's great! Yes, I think I will have some." Harry said as he climbed up onto the bus and took a seat. He placed Hedwig on his lap and put both arms tightly around him.

That night Harry lay upstairs in the The Leaky Cauldron. Hedwig was perched on the headboard of his bed. Her bright eyes were open and looking around, it looked as if she couldn't sleep. Harry sat up and called her down to his arm. She came instantly down and started nibbling softly on his fingers. He petted her and talked to her quietly. After a few minutes she ruffled her feathers and newly fixed wing. He let her fly back up to where she was minutes before. His head hit the pillow and he started to drift back off to sleep. As his mind filled with empty thoughts, a letter floated before his vision. He shot up in bed and ran over to get his coat. He had forgotten about the letter. It was still shoved into his pocket and he pulled it out. He ran back to the bed and sat down cross-legged and started to read.

Dear Harry,

Your letter somewhat disturbed me. As did your owl, Hedwig correct? She was in really bad condition. I tried to help her wing slightly, but I'm afraid I might have done more damage. I hope you can get her to a doctor somewhere, please don't take her to a muggle one. I'll send her back with my owl so she gets home safely. As will this letter, hopefully. The letter I received from you was very torn up and difficult to read, but I think I got the majority of it. Any idea why she was attacked?

It was great to finally hear from you. We've all been worried, though I doubt you care about that at the moment. How have you been holding up? I heard that Molly has got more rooms cleaned at the headquarters. She wants to invite you to come and stay for the rest of the summer. She has been hesitant, afraid it will cause to much pain and memories. Which I won't lie to you, it will. But at least you'd have your friends and family with you. I consider, as do we all (Me, Molly, Arthur, Tonks, Moody, Dumbledore) like family. We hope you can come and stay with us for awhile. I promise we'll be in more, there's more work to be done then last summer! The war has started, as I'm sure you know.

You've been cut off from the wizarding world for too long. I will speak to you about all of your questions and concerns in person. Owl me back as soon as possible. Please don't use Hedwig, even if you get her fixed. I don't think she'll be up for the flight just yet. We will see you soon.

Harry placed the letter on the bedside and turned over. It had turned out to be a pretty decent day afterwards. In the morning he would send Lupin back a letter. For now he needed to sleep, to clear his mind, to rest his body.

Sirius lay on the ground starring up into the darkness. He had been waiting for the feeling he knew he'd receive. Harry had to be going to sleep soon. Was it even night yet in England? It had to be, right? With another sigh he turned over and lay on his stomach. He wished he could fall asleep. He felt drained and exhausted, but he knew he would never sleep until he was out of this place.

What seemed to be hours later, his mind started spinning into remembrance. He was going over every little detail of what the man, thing, told him yesterday. If he screwed up at all, that could be it, which could be the end. He turned over and stood up. It was time; he would be talking to Harry in a few moments.

The image of Earth started to fill his mind, he could see it through his eyes as bright as day. He watched as the Earth slowly spun around. Finally he saw his home continent, Europe. He focused in on it and watched as it became bigger and bigger. Slowly it started to close in on England. He had a small thought and stared in awe as the area seemed to be getting smaller. Everything was getting smaller; it started to speed up till it was all gone. The black was back, every clear image he had of everything was gone. He sat down heavily on the ground and placed his head in his hands.

He had no idea where Harry was. It would still be summer there, since time went slower. But if it went really slower then Harry could still be at school. If it was summer, which he was sure it was, then he could be back at the Dursleys. A pain of grieve stabbed at his heart at the thought. But he could be back at the Burrow with Molly and Arthur. The war had started, Voldermort had to have gotten caught and discovered by this point. They had to be at the headquarters. Was the headquarters still in his house? Did the ministry take over his house when he died? What happened to all of his things? His money? It had to go to Harry. He needed to talk to Dumbledore before he could even think about talking to Harry. He sighed at the thought of trying to locate Dumbledore. Harry could be in three or four possible areas, Dumbledore could be anywhere. To top things off, no one ever ...knew where Dumbledore was.

This whole process may turn out more difficult then he had thought. Did that man say anything about getting destroyed if you were wrong in location? Or was it just that the locations had to be vivid? Sirius fell backwards onto the floor once again. He lay sprawled out in thought. He could either take a chance and find Dumbledore, or he could lay here until he felt it was time for school to start back up again. To stay in this place for two months, Earth time, would be a living hell. Especially when he knew that he could be communicating with Harry and the outside world.

His mind clicked and he shot straight up. He had to envision the house first, if the person wasn't in the house he'd know. He would try for Lupin at Grimmuald Place first. If he couldn't find him then he'd give up for the night.

Once again the process started over. Slowly he was closing in on his childhood home. A place filled with hatred, doom, and everlasting darkness. He let his mind wander through out his mental picture of the house and landed in what was Lupin's room over the summer. He pictured his friend lying on the old bed, twitching from a relentless dream. A small smiled danced across Sirius' lips as he reached out to his friend's mind. Slowly he entered it, feeling the oddest sensation. He felt as if he was entering a pool full of jelly. Everything was turning into grayscale. Lupin did not dream in color. He saw his friend running around a forest, trying to escape someone or some thing.

"Moony? Is it really you? Or at least your dream self? Oh please tell me you're really here!" Sirius blurted out to his friend's back. His eyes bearing into him as he slowly turned around.

"Sirius? So you've finally decided to haunt my dreams? You look so real, so sad...and disturbed. Even more so then from when you were in Azkaban. But why am I picturing you this way? You should be happy and full of joy. Your cheeks should be red and your face full again. All of those handsome features you had as an adolescent should have came back. This is how I wanted to remember you. Not like this..." Lupin trailed off, the whole time talking to himself.

"Moony. You're not dreaming me. In a way you are, but I put myself here. I need answers, and more importantly I needed to ...talk to someone! I'm trapped, Moony. I can't get out of here. I need to get out of here."

"Out of where? What are you babbling on about now Padfoot?"

"When I fell through the archway. I ended on the other side, there ...is another side. It's a big, black, silent box. I can feel the bottom, I can't find the edges, and I cannot see the top. There is only the bottom. Finally some...thing, came to me. It told me there is still a chance for me to communicate with the outside world. This is how, through dreams. I need to talk to Harry, to convince him I'm not dead. To make sure he knows I'm still here, only a dream away. More importantly I need to talk to Dumbledore and get things settled. Everyone will think I'm dead. I need to know where he is."

"Wow. Did my mind really come up with all of this? Well...Sirius...if what you say is true, then that's amazing. I don't know if I can believe you just yet, for the grieve of this all being a regular dream is too much. I will answer your question. He is, I believe, at Hogwarts. He said he had some unfinished business at the school. He won't be there for long. Two, three days at the most. After that he should be back here, for at least dinner."

Lupin started to flicker out. There seemed to be a veil going up in front of him. Sirius took this as Lupin waking up, or he was starting to leave the normal world once more. That is if you can call the dream world normal.

"Well Moony, my great friend, I cannot thank you more. Please do believe this. It is real. But now, not I must go. You are fading, you are waking. If I keep you for too long I risk putting you in eternal sleep. Go now, wake up. Please do not tell everyone, I will visit them when the time is right. If you get in touch with Harry, do not and I repeat DO NOT tell him anything. Find out where he is, I need to talk to him. We will be in touch soon my dear friend." With that Sirius slowly let the images flow from his mind. The black filled his vision again. It had been good to hear someone else speak. It was great to know that his friends were still alive, that he was the only one who had "died" that night. If someone else had, then Lupin would have said so. With that he curled back up on floor and let his thoughts overtake him, waiting for the next night and Dumbledore's mind to come.

Sorry it took so long to update. I was going to, I even started this chapter kinda. I went on vacation and it's been kinda hectic to get caught up in school when I got back. I'm still really behind and have to do three projects and papers this weekend, but I still wrote this for all of you. So feel loved.

Thanks to all my reviewers!

esp. Rockpapersirius. xD

You guys keep me updating.