Disclaimer: This story is based on the amazing characters created by the wonderful writer JK Rowling.

A/N: I just want to say thanks to all of my reviewers. Here is the next chapter, and I hope that you enjoy it.


Harry tried to frantically get up after making his pronouncement of Sirius's capture, but Dumbledore firmly tried to keep Harry in the bed. After a few moments of struggle, Harry slumped against the pillow with his eyes staring off into space.

"Harry, now that you are a little more calm, I need you to tell me exactly what you saw," Dumbledore said as he cautiously released his hold on Harry's shoulders.

A few tears welled up in Harry's eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He took several deep breaths before slowly relating his vision to the Headmaster. Harry had to stop his tale a few times, yet Dumbledore would patiently wait for Harry to continue speaking. Once Harry had finished talking, he started trying to get up again.

"Where are you going, Harry?" Dumbledore questioned.

Harry rifled in his desk drawer before he found what he was looking for. He took out the mirror that Sirius had given him and was about to use it, but Dumbledore quickly pulled it from his grasp. The Headmaster put it in his pocket; however, Harry still attempted to retrieve it.

"Hey! Give that back. It's mine. I have to see what is going on with Sirius. I want to know if he is okay," Harry yelled.

"Harry, I don't think that it would be wise to use the mirror if Sirius has really been captured…"

Harry stopped trying to gain back the mirror. He stood speechless for a second before angrily replying. "What do you mean 'if'? I know what I saw. My visions have always been true. The Death Eaters looked like they were about to torture him. We can't just stand here doing nothing."

"We will attempt to discover Sirius's whereabouts, but we will only use the mirror as a last resort. Harry, I know that your visions have always been true in the past; however, this could have just been a nightmare. You just talked to Sirius while you were at Hogwarts, and I know that you worry about him sometimes. Seeing him could have brought out your concerns towards him," Dumbledore explained. "If Sirius really has been captured, however, you wouldn't want to alert Voldemort to the fact that you are in contact with him. We may have to use the mirror, but not right away."

"This felt too real to be a nightmare," argued Harry. "I know that my nightmares have seemed real before, but this felt different. What are we going to do if we aren't using the mirror?"

"I will try to contact Arabella first and see if Sirius is still staying there since he told you that he would be leaving soon. If he has already left in order to visit another house, I will ask her if she knows who he is visiting next. I will then contact that person," Dumbledore answered.

"Will you be using the fireplace?" asked Harry.

"Yes."

Harry quickly headed into the living room and settled on the couch. The Headmaster knelt in front of the fireplace, threw in the Floo Powder, yelled out his destination, and stuck his head in the flames. Harry fidgeted in his seat while he waited for Dumbledore to finish his conversation. Even though Dumbledore hadn't been talking for a long time, Harry had gotten tired of waiting. He stood up and began to pace, occasionally glancing over at the Headmaster's body. Finally, Dumbledore pulled his head back into the living room and walked over to sit on the couch.

"Well?" Harry impatiently demanded.

"Sirius left Arabella's not long after the two of you talked. Arabella said that he was going to visit Mundugus Fletcher next. She thinks that Sirius should be there by now."

After he was through explaining, Dumbledore went back over to the fireplace and repeated the procedure again. The Headmaster's conversation was much shorter than the one with Mrs. Figg. Harry, once again seated on the couch, looked fearfully at Dumbledore's serious face.

"Mundugus says that he has not seen Sirius; however, I don't think that you should start panicking just yet. There are many things that could have happened to him…"

"Like being captured by Death Eaters," Harry bitterly replied.

Dumbledore silently stared at Harry until Harry began to feel a bit uncomfortable. Harry quietly muttered "sorry" which caused the Headmaster to resume his speech.

"As I was saying, Sirius could have gotten lost. He might have stopped somewhere to spend the night. There are probably other reasons that he hasn't reached Mundugus's house yet. I'm going to try to contact Severus, however, and see if he knows anything," Dumbledore said.

"If there really is a Death Eater meeting, though, Professor Snape isn't going to be home. Even if he isn't home, how will we know whether he is with Voldemort or somewhere else that is completely unrelated?" asked Harry.

"Let me just try to contact him first."

Harry anxiously waited to see what the verdict would be as Dumbledore used the Floo powder for the third time that night. Once Dumbledore had pulled back out of the flames, Harry alternated between searching the Headmaster's face for information and glancing at the fireplace. Dumbledore didn't say anything, but the flames shot up after a few moments and Snape stepped out.

Snape brushed a few pieces of ash off of his robes before looking over at Harry sitting on the couch. He seemed to be assessing Harry's current condition. Harry started to talk, but he was stopped when Snape pulled a vial out of his robes and handed it over.

"What's this?" asked Harry.

"It is a Calming Draught. You look like you could use it. Are you in any pain? I can give you something for that as well," Snape answered.

Harry examined the potion for a second before downing the contents with a grimace. He thought that he had been handling himself fairly well considering the circumstances, but he knew that it was probably going to be a long night. He would need the potion to help him get through whatever they ended up discovering.

"No, I'm not in pain," Harry said.

"Good. Now, can someone please explain this situation more thoroughly? All you had time to tell me, Albus, was that it contained Potter, a vision, the Dark Lord, and Black."

Harry once again began telling what he had witnessed while asleep. He was glad that the potion allowed him to share his story without hesitating or needing to take a break. Snape sat on one of the chairs while listening intently to Harry talk. Harry watched Snape's face for any reaction to the story, but Snape continued to keep his face impassive. Snape only spoke up after Harry had stopped speaking.

"I don't know why you had this dream, but it isn't true. If Black had been captured, I would be there with the rest of the Death Eaters instead of sitting here with you. I haven't felt the Dark Mark burn all day. The Dark Lord would have called all of his Death Eaters immediately if Black had been taken, not only to boast, but also to retrieve the valuable information that Black holds, especially about you," explained Snape.

Harry carefully listened to Snape's speech. What Snape had said made sense, but Harry would feel much better if he could just talk to Sirius. Hopefully Dumbledore would say that he could use the mirror soon.

"Professor Dumbledore said that it might just have been a nightmare. Do you think that's what happened?" Harry questioned.

"Well…" Snape hesitated. "That is a feasible guess. There is something else, however, that could have happened, but I almost don't want to share it."

"What is it, Severus?" Dumbledore asked.

"The Dark Lord may have discovered the connection with Potter. He hasn't said anything to the Death Eaters, but it could be a recent discovery or he could be keeping the information quiet from everyone. If he had the knowledge of the deep connection between you two, Potter, it is possible that the Dark Lord could have sent you a false vision," Snape answered.

Harry gaped at Snape's reply. "How is that even possible? He could really do that?"

"It is possible, but I don't know if it is probable. Albus, you could be right in saying that it was only a nightmare. If I was correct in what I said, though, there would be dire consequences. You would have a hard time discerning what was a true vision from what wasn't. The Dark Lord would constantly try to play with your mind. I guess that we will just have to wait and see."

Stunned, Harry slumped back against the couch. Everything was becoming even more complicated than he had ever dreamed it could be. He was willing to go along with the nightmare theory, but Snape had managed to bring a whole new perspective which Harry didn't know if he was comfortable thinking about. Having to witness visions every once in a while was bad enough, but not knowing if they were true would be torture.

Silence filled the room as everyone thought about this new revelation. Dumbledore leaned over and placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder while Snape tactfully glanced away.

"Professor, can I use the mirror now to try and contact Sirius?" Harry asked Dumbledore. "It was been over an hour since I had the dream. I won't be able to go to sleep anymore tonight or feel any better if I don't have absolute proof that he is okay."

Dumbledore knew that Harry needed to do this, so he gave a nod of approval while pulling out the mirror. As Harry started to eagerly reach for it, Dumbledore held the mirror out of Harry's reach.

"There are a few things that we must discuss first. We don't know where Sirius is, so don't reveal too much information. You never know who could be around. His area may not be secure. I would only trust the security around another Order member's house. Don't use the word 'vision' in regards to your dream. If you want him to know about it, use code. You could say that you just had a nightmare. Sirius will understand."

After Dumbledore had finished his speech and Harry had agreed to the conditions, the mirror was passed over into Harry's hands. Harry kept staring at the mirror while turning it over repeatedly in his hands. Harry wanted to talk to Sirius, but he was nervous about what he would find out. Snape was apparently getting agitated with Harry's waiting because he impatiently cleared his throat. Harry jumped slightly at the loud noise, but he realized that he needed to get over his fears. Taking a deep breath, Harry steeled himself for what he might find.

"Sirius Black," Harry called.

The screen remained blank. Harry hoped that Sirius would pick up the mirror and answer soon. He glanced fearfully at Dumbledore and Snape, but neither one of them were able to give any reassurance. They looked like they didn't understand why Sirius wasn't answering either. Just when Harry was about to give up, he saw a face slowly shimmer onto the screen.

Harry felt a lump sitting in his throat. Sirius looked alright. Before Harry had been sucked out of his dream, he had witnessed the Death Eaters descending on Sirius. If that had really happened, Sirius would probably have been pretty banged up; however, Sirius looked exactly like he always had. There weren't any bruises, cuts, or scrapes marring Sirius's face.

"Sirius," Harry breathlessly whispered. "I'm so glad you're okay. I had a bad dream tonight and wanted to talk to you."

"Hello, H-Harry. What was your dream about?"

Harry looked puzzled and concerned. "Why did you stutter, Sirius? Are you alright?"

Sirius coughed before answering Harry's question. "Fine. It's just that it's late, and I didn't expect to see you. I was worried that something was wrong."

"That's okay. My dream isn't really important anymore. It just scared me a bit. I'll let you get back to sleep, okay? We can talk another time. Sorry to wake you up, Sirius. Bye."

After Sirius left, Harry closed his eyes and relaxed against the cushions. The whole night had been physically and emotionally draining. Dumbledore's hand started gently squeezing Harry's shoulder in comfort.

"Professors, you were right. Sirius is okay. My dream wasn't true," Harry said.

"Harry, if you have any more dreams like this, I want you to come to me immediately. I usually hear you whenever you have a nightmare or vision, but in case I don't, come find me. Even if the vision isn't true, I can help you. This dream has really upset you," Dumbledore replied.

"I wish that I could give you some Dreamless Sleep potion, Potter, but it has not been a week yet since you last took it. It would be better to suffer a few nightmares than risk taking the potion," Snape explained.

Harry gave a small grateful smile. "Thanks anyway, Professor. I really appreciate it. I'll be okay."

"If you have no more need of my assistance, I think that I will head on home. I will keep you aware, Albus, of any significant information I acquire."

After Snape had left, Harry and Dumbledore turned to each other. They stayed silent for a few more moments while sitting beside each other on the couch.

"Harry, do you plan on getting any more sleep tonight?" Dumbledore asked.

"Probably not. It will be breakfast time pretty soon anyway. You can go back to bed if you want. I just want to stay here for a little while and think."

Usually Dumbledore would have protested and stayed in the living room with Harry, but the Headmaster could tell that Harry just wanted to be alone for a little while. He would respect Harry's wishes.

"Alright, Harry. If you need me, don't hesitate to get me," Dumbledore said. He gave Harry a quick hug before leaving.

Harry stared blankly into the fireplace. He had seen that Sirius was okay, even if his godfather had acted a little strange in the beginning. Now all the Harry had to wonder about was the stupid dream. Had the dream been a nightmare, a false planted vision, or something else?