Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter related. The plot is the only thing that is mine.
A/N: Thank you to all of my fabulous reviewers. I love hearing from you.
Harry could see the Death Eaters converging on a single house in the neighborhood. Except for the swishing of cloaks and the sound of feet running across the paved driveway, there was silence in the air. The moon cast a pale light upon the area, illuminating the events which were unfolding. Harry reluctantly followed the Death Eaters through the open front door.
Upon entering the living room, Harry saw that the Death Eaters were gathered in a circle around a group of people. Curious, Harry made his way towards the huddled group in the center. He gasped when he saw that Hermione was clinging to her mother while her father tried to shield both of them with his body. The father tried to plead with the Death Eaters to let his family go, but the only response that he got was loud, harsh laughter.
Harry stared horrified at the scene in front of him. He didn't understand how this could be happening. Her house had been safe just yesterday, and he had even sent her a letter. As Harry began to think harder about the situation, he realized that this couldn't be real. Hermione was on vacation with her parents. The Death Eaters wouldn't have been able to track her down; they wouldn't have had enough time.
With these thoughts rushing through Harry's mind, the scene began to fade away. Harry slowly opened his eyes and glanced around at his surroundings. He knew that he had just been dreaming about what could have happened yesterday, but it still took a minute for everything to sink in. Relief started to flood over him when he realized that everyone was safe at the moment.
Glancing at the clock, Harry saw that it was still a little bit early, but he knew that he would never be able to go back to sleep. Harry lingered in bed for a few more seconds before climbing out of the bed with a groan. He quickly threw on some clothes and then crept quietly down the hall towards the kitchen.
Harry figured that he could go ahead and start cooking breakfast. He tried not to make a lot of noise, but that was ruined once he accidentally dropped the baking pan he had been carrying. Harry froze for a second, hoping that the Headmaster was sleeping heavily today. While Harry began to pick up the pan and clean up the water from the floor, Dumbledore hurried into the kitchen.
"Are you alright?" the Headmaster asked.
"Yeah," replied Harry. "I dropped this pan. I'm sorry that I woke you up."
"Don't worry about it. What are you doing up this early?"
"I had a nightmare, and I couldn't go back to sleep. I haven't been awake very long," Harry said.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and vanished the water that was still on the floor. Harry gave him a grateful smile before wandering back over to the food cooking on the stove. The Headmaster walked over to the kitchen table and relaxed in a chair.
"Was your nightmare very bad?" Dumbledore questioned.
Harry briefly glanced over at the Headmaster before flipping over the bacon. "It wasn't too bad, actually. I figured out that it was a nightmare before I woke up. The nightmare did kind of scare me at first, but once I realized that it wasn't real, I was okay."
"When the seven days are up, do you want to take the Dreamless Sleep potion again?" asked Dumbledore.
Harry was silent for a few minutes while he pondered the question. The potion was very useful, but he didn't want to become dependent on it. Harry wanted to work out the nightmares on his own without the effort of a potion. Besides, the nightmares were getting better, and the talks with the Headmaster were very helpful.
"I don't think that I will use it again. If the nightmares get worse, I might consider using it; however, I would like to try not taking it just yet," Harry replied.
Dumbledore proudly gazed at Harry. He was glad that Harry was willing to face his fears head on. Not everyone would have the courage to do that if they had gone through everything that Harry had experienced.
"I need to go to Hogwarts today in order to do some work," Dumbledore said. "If you want, you can come with me."
Harry looked up startled from where he was gathering drinks out of the fridge. "I would love to get out of this house for a little while. Don't get me wrong, I like this house, but I need to go somewhere else for a bit."
"Then it is settled. You can wander around Hogwarts while I work, but I want you to wear your Invisibility Cloak. I don't expect anyone to be there today; however, teachers do pop in every now and then. We will leave after we eat breakfast."
Harry eagerly rushed through his food, but once he was finished, he had to impatiently wait while the Headmaster took his time in eating. Even though he was going to be on his own for most of the day, Harry was looking forward to seeing Hogwarts again.
Once the table had been cleared of food and dishes, Harry quickly grabbed his Invisibility Cloak from his bedroom and tucked it under his arm. He went into the living room and met Dumbledore beside the fireplace.
"After you," Dumbledore said as he handed Harry the Floo powder.
Harry soon found himself back in the Headmaster's office. He drifted over to Fawkes's perch and began to pet the beautiful bird. Harry glanced back over at the fireplace once he heard the Headmaster arrive.
"I don't know how long this will take me, but I will send Fawkes to get you when I am done. Have fun and stay out of trouble," Dumbledore said with a small smile.
Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over his head before walking down the stairs and into the hallway. He decided to visit the library first and see if he could find anything interesting to read. While Harry was wandering through the halls on his way to the library, he was amazed by the silence that permeated the air. Usually the halls were full of students and ringing with the sounds of chatter and laughter.
Upon reaching the library, Harry roamed through the different aisles. Every now and then a title would catch his attention, but he would become bored soon after starting the book. Harry finally decided that he had had enough of the library; he wanted to go outside and get some fresh air.
Once Harry had gotten outside, he sat in the shade of a large tree and pulled out his mirror. Because of his nightmare, Harry had the urge to see and talk to Sirius. Harry knew that Sirius was okay, but he still worried about him sometimes. Sirius was an escaped convict, so it wasn't very safe for Sirius to be seen by anyone.
"Sirius Black," Harry called.
He waited for a few seconds before Sirius's face filled the mirror.
"Hey, kiddo," Sirius said. "How are you?"
"I'm doing okay. I'm actually at Hogwarts right now. Professor Dumbledore had some work to do. What are you up to?"
"I'm still at Arabella's house, but I think that I will be leaving here in a day or two. I still have a couple more people left to visit before I can go back to my house," answered Sirius.
"The Headmaster said that I could stay with you for a while once you are at your house. I can't wait to see you," Harry replied with a smile.
"My mission shouldn't take too much longer."
Harry's face became solemn when he remembered the events from yesterday. "Sirius, I wanted to tell you what I learned about the Death Eater attack."
"Did you witness it?" Sirius worriedly questioned.
"No, but I heard about it from Professor Snape." Harry frowned when he saw the look of disgust on Sirius's face. He continued speaking after a second. "I learned from the newspaper that the attack happened in the town where Hermione lived. Thankfully she was away on vacation."
A grave look settled on Sirius when he heard Harry's news. "It doesn't seem like anyone is safe anymore. I'm glad that you are staying with Albus, Harry. I think that he will watch out for you."
After a few moments of silence, Harry began to talk again. "I guess that I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. I just wanted to see how you were. I'll talk to you later, Sirius. Bye."
"Later, Harry."
Harry stood up from his spot under the tree and stretched. While he was working the knots out of his body, Harry tried to decide where he wanted to go next. He finally rearranged the Invisibility Cloak on his body and headed back to the castle. Harry wanted to explore Hogwarts for secret passages. He decided to go to the dungeons first since he hadn't spotted many secret areas there on the Marauder's Map.
As Harry was wandering through the hallways of the dungeons, he spotted a sliver of light coming from underneath the door to the Potion's room. Wanting to know what was going on, Harry quietly walked over to the door and slowly opened it. Two cauldrons were set up over a fire while Professor Snape was adding ingredients to a third cauldron on the countertop. The Potion's Master was too busy working to notice that his door had been mysteriously opened by an unseen person.
Harry walked over to his teacher and remained silent. He didn't want to startle Professor Snape and cause the cauldron to accidentally explode. When Snape was at a stopping point, Harry decided that it was safe to talk.
"Hello, Professor."
Snape quickly glanced up and began looking puzzled around the room. "Potter! Where are you?"
Harry sheepishly took off his Invisibility Cloak. "Oh! Sorry. I forgot that I was wearing the Cloak."
A smirk broke out on Snape's face. "Why are you here?"
"I was bored, so I decided to wander around the dungeons…" Harry answered.
Snape interrupted him. "I meant, why are you at Hogwarts?"
Harry's cheeks turned red. "Oh. Professor Dumbledore is working here, so I tagged along. What are you doing here?"
"I'm plotting how I can take over the world," Snape sarcastically answered with a roll of his eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing, Potter?"
Ignoring his teacher's sarcasm, Harry glanced into the three cauldrons. "I can see that you are making potions, of course, but what kind are you making?"
"The Hospital Wing needs many potions throughout the school year. It is up to me to make them all. I'm brewing Blood Replenisher right now."
"Do you need any help?" Harry asked.
Snape raised an eyebrow at Harry's question. "You want to help me make a potion?"
"I have nothing better to do, and I'm bored. I can chop your ingredients for you."
Professor Snape gave Harry a calculating look before pointing at a stool. He got out the ingredients for Harry and handed him a knife to cut them with. Harry plopped himself down on the stool and placed the first ingredient in front of him. He then looked to Snape for instructions.
"This should be an easy enough task even for you to accomplish. I just want you to cut the ingredients into pieces that are a quarter of an inch long."
After watching Harry carefully for a few minutes and making sure that he did it correctly, Snape walked back over to the other cauldrons and checked on the bubbling potions. Harry concentrated on the task that he had been assigned, but he quickly grew tired of the silence in the room.
"Do you have a potion's lab at your house, Professor?" questioned Harry.
Snape continued to stir one of the potions as he answered Harry. "I do, but I prefer the lab here. This one is much bigger than the one at home. Plus, if I am making potions for the Hospital Wing, it makes more sense to brew them here than having to transfer them from my home to Hogwarts."
"Do you come here often during the summer?" Harry asked.
"It is quiet here during the summer, and I enjoy that. Sometimes a lot of people get in touch with me at my house: Order members and Death Eaters. It's just easier to come here and get away from them all," Snape replied.
"Do you want me to leave you alone? I can leave if you just want to be by yourself."
"You can stay. You are helping me get these potions done quicker than I normally would."
A noise suddenly interrupted the conversation. From Professor Snape's office came the sound of flames suddenly bursting to life in the fireplace. In Harry's rush to stand up and pull the Invisibility Cloak back over his head, he accidentally knocked over the stool he had been using. Once Snape was positive that Harry was completely covered up, he pulled out his wand and turned towards the door to his office. Within a few seconds, the door was pulled open and Lucius Malfoy sauntered into the room.
