Author's Note: Here is the next chapter…

Chapter 8: The Point of No Return

"What?" Harry asked, temporarily forgetting there was a washcloth on his forehead as he sat up, "No, it' can't be," he said, laying back down again and pressing the cloth harder against his scar; it's soothing coolness causing him to yearn to drift off.

"Harry, I am almost sure that this arch is one of Voldemort's horcruxes. Positive it is. That night at the ministry I saw several stray spells that should have blasted it to pieces simply bounce off of it."

"Alright," Harry began, he words slurred due to the fact that he had began to drift off, "Say it was a horcruxe: how're we supposed to get to it to destroy it?" he asked.

"I don't know Harry but if Lupin's right we will have to find a way," Hermione softly said, laying another cold washrag on his neck after he had gotten back onto his bed. He felt the bed bend where she sat next to him.

"I don't expect Scrimegeour will be too happy if he finds out that especially I have tried to break into the department of mysteries," Harry commented.

"You aren't too sociable with him then, are you," Tonks said, making it more of a statement rather than a question.

"No, not to friendly. I don't like him very much," he muttered as Hermione turned the washcloth on his forehead over so the cooler side was against his now-throbbing scar.

"Will you be alright now, Harry?" Lupin asked.

Harry nodded, feeling as though he hadn't slept in days and as if he could fall asleep any second.

"Well I'm off to bed, then," Tonks said with a yawn so loud it shouldn't have been allowed, "Night Mione, wotcher Harry," she said as she headed out of his room.

"Good night Harry, Hermione," Lupin said, trudging through the door after Tonks.

"Night," Harry said, watching him leave. After Lupin was out of sight he looked up at Hermione who was still leaning over him looking quite concerned.

"Harry I'm worried about you," she said.

"Come on 1Mione, I'll be alright. You'd better go get some sleep…"

"I'm going to sleep in your room," she suddenly said, jumping off of his bed and moving things on the floor around so there would be room for her next to his bed.

"I don't think…" Harry began.

"Oh don't be silly," she said, slightly out of breath, as she stood up again, "I just want to be sure you're going to sleep alright for the rest of the night."

"You shouldn't…"

"Let me just nip into my room and grab some blankets and a pillow," she said and was out of his door quicker than a firebolt.

Harry stared at the ceiling as he heard her walking back down the hall. He turned his head and watched as she laid her blankets on the floor. She was wearing dark blue, fuzzy fleece pajama pants and a dark blue camisole. Her hair was down and looked lanky; almost straight.

"Why are you staying in here again?" he asked as she pulled up her blankets and got underneath them.

She looked up at him as she covered herself, "Oh, because I just think someone should stay with you."

He raised one eyebrow as he began to count the bumps on his ceiling, "Keep in mind that's where I fell off of my bed onto."

There was a pause, "I realize that," she said, "But it's alright. I don't think you'll have another dream tonight."

"You sound sure of yourself."

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because, if Voldemort is so intent on keeping himself out of your mind and he accidentally slipped while he was falling asleep then he would realize how close he'd come to going into your mind he would probably be petrified of falling asleep for the rest of the night," she said all in one breath.

Harry mused on the thought of Voldemort sleeping. In the number of times he had shared dreams with him, he had never actually thought Voldemort could sleep; or did sleep in the least.

He laughed to himself as he rolled over onto his left side and instantly fell asleep.

It seemed like moments later when he was being shaken awake. He opened his eyes to complete darkness and, wondering how he would be able to tell if his eyes were open or not, he rubbed them.

"Oh thank goodness Harry," whispered Hermione as he felt the bed bend behind him, "You were saying things in your sleep; I…I thought you were dreaming again."

He rolled over to find her sitting on his bed.

"Hermione…what…?" he started to ask, sitting up and grabbing his glasses and wand from his bedside table, "Lumos," he muttered as his wand tip ignited.

"Harry," she whispered, her face pale and terrified, "You were saying things," she said, seeming as if she was not able to go on.

"Uh…" he started as he yawned, "Ok…like what?" he asked.

"Like…like…just horrid things Harry!" she whispered, leaning closer to him and quite obviously frightened.

"Alright, but I wasn't dreaming. I swear it," he said.

"You had to have been. You said…" she said, and she was gesturing feverishly with her hands as her mouth was furiously moving as though she were talking, but no noise was coming out.

Entirely confused, Harry tried to make eye-contact with her again.

"Hermione," he softly said, laying his hand on her shoulder.

Her mouth and hand stopped moving and she looked at him, finally collapsing into his chest, sobbing as if someone had just died.

Someone other than Dumbledore, Harry bitterly thought as he awkwardly embraced her.

"Are you alright Hermione?" he carefully asked.

"No," she sobbed, her voice partially muffled by his shirt.

"Er…what's wrong?" he asked.

She looked up at him, "Harry, I woke up and you were saying ghastly things about Dumbledore and Sirius and…and Ron and me. And especially Ginny. Oh it was horrible!" she exclaimed in a whisper, once again burying her head into his chest.

Harry thought hard and couldn't recall that he'd had another dream. Just before she'd woken him up he had had a sort of fuzzy, at-ease deep-sleep feeling.

"Harry," she said, pushing away from him, sniffling and wiping her own tears away, "Harry I have to tell you something," she said, finally taking both his hands in hers, knocking his wand onto his bed, but not completely making eye-contact with him.

"Ok…what?" he asked. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make eye-contact with her.

"That…that 'Point of no Return' Sirius was talking about…you know the one?"

"I know he was talking about it; I don't know where it is or what it is exactly…"

"And the arch way we were talking about earlier," she continued as if he hadn't said anything, her voice wavering.

"Yeah," he slowly said as she finally looked at him.

"They are the same thing."