"Harry? Harry!" Someone was calling his name. The voice sounded distant, echoing in his head. Harry opened his eyes groggily, blinking at the bright rays of the morning sun. He was back in his bed.

"Professor!" Hermione called. "He woke up!"

Slowly, memories of last night came to his mind. "Hermione?" he croaked. "Are you alright?" Blurry figures surrounded him, and he concentrated hard to make them clear, but they just swam and wavered in his line of vision.

"Harry?" A voice that sounded like Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Harry tried to sit up, tried to see what was going on.

"Take it easy," it was Sirius' voice, and Harry felt his hands gently easing him back into bed.

"What happened? Last night, I mean?" Harry asked, confused.

Dumbledore looked around the room. "I think I might need a moment alone with Harry-Sirius, you can stay."

They rose dejectedly, and filed them out of the room. "Hope you feel better," Ron mumbled.

Professor Dumbledore waited until the door closed with a soft click, and then turned to Harry. "I need you to tell me exactly what you felt last night."

Sirius grabbed Harry's hand reassuringly, as he started to speak. "It-it was my fault," he said softly. "Sirius told me to stay…I just couldn't…"

Dumbledore merely nodded for Harry to continue.

"Me and Hermione…we hid in the alley, after Tonks told us to. Then…Voldemort came. He cursed me, but then he stopped."

"Why did he stop?" Sirius inquired.

"It was strange," Harry mused. "It seemed to hurt him- almost as much as it hurt me."

Dumbledore frowned. "Most curious."

"He tried again, but the same thing happened…then Sirius shot a spell at him, but I felt it, even though it hit Voldemort."

Sirius looked up at the Professor. "What does this mean?"

"I am pretty sure- not positive, but pretty sure that there is a special bond between you and Voldemort."

"We already know this-" Sirius interrupted impatiently.

"But-" the headmaster held up a hand as he continued. "This bond is now stronger than ever now that Voldemort is back in his body, and has your blood. My theory is that this connection has grown so strong…that you can feel his pain, and vice versa."

"What?" Harry asked. "So if I get a paper-cut, he would feel that?"

"No…not that kind of pain. Only pain inflicted through magic would travel through the connection, and all the effects of that particular spell would happen to the other person, too."

Looking over at his godfather, he saw that Sirius had his face in his hands. Puzzled, he asked, "What's so bad about that? It means Voldemort can't hurt me, right? And none of his Death Eaters can either!"

"You don't understand, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "If the Dark Lord should ever be killed, or die, then…you would, too."

Harry went pale. "And…if I killed him…I would die?"

Dumbledore nodded, his normally vibrant blue eyes clouded in what seemed to be tears.

"Don't worry Harry…I'm sure there is a loophole somewhere…"

Sirius lifted his head and Harry saw streaks of tears down his cheeks. "If anyone tries to hurt Voldemort, they will hurt Harry too! What can we do?" He looked at Dumbledore pleadingly. "We can't just let Voldemort destroy everything, but we can't hurt him either!"

Harry felt dizzy from this information.

"We can't let the Ministry get word of this," Dumbledore warned. "They would try to kill Harry in order to get rid of Voldemort."

"If they tried to do anything, I- I would," Sirius shook with anger. Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which he shook off abruptly.

"Don't try to calm me down!" He shouted furiously. "This is my godson, and everyone in the wizarding world is just using him as a pawn!" Breathing heavily, he put his hands back over his face to cover his tears.

Harry thought it was quite ironic that he himself was not outraged by this news. He felt too shocked to think about the details at the moment.

"I won't tell anybody," Harry said quietly. "If that helps."

"Wouldn't it be wise to tell your friends? They deserve to know," Dumbledore said.

"I don't want them to know," Harry murmured. "They would worry too much."

"It is your choice," Dumbledore got up. "I will leave you two alone now. Please, if you have any questions or concerns, Harry, don't be afraid to ask."

As he left, Harry glanced cautiously at Sirius. His face was hidden, but his shoulders were shaking visibly.

"It's ok," Harry cringed at the sight of his godfather crying. "It'll be all right…"

Sirius wiped at his face with his hands and laughed humorlessly. "I should be the one comforting you. How useless I am. I have to stay in this bloody place, or the Ministry will lock me up in Azkaban."

Harry remembered his dream. "Just don't do anything rash, please?"

Sirius just kept shaking his head. "You'd better keep your eyes out for danger, Harry. Dumbledore is right…there should be a way out of this…what I am doing? I shouldn't get you all worked up. You have to recover after your ordeal. Rest, now."

Despite Harry's protesting, Sirius forced him to swallow a Sleep Potion, and he once again felt himself drifting off into unconsciousness.