A.N: Sorry my life has gone to hell, I'll save the excuses enjoy!
Disclaimer: Nope still not mine…. But I do own the gingerbread imps mmm…
A Shadow Of A Hope.
Chapter 3. Now What?
Ron was being chased by Harry, through a dark forest, he felt terrified and for some reason Harry was a vampire, he was still running and he knew Harry was gaining then just as Harry was about to swoop down on him, his eyes snapped open and he was lying in bed looking up at the dark canopy above him.
He shivered and shook his head, then he looked over at the empty bed next to his, the early morning sun light was shining across the un-slept in bed.
McGonagall had come in the common room and told them about Harry, he had been attacked by an acromantula, and he was to blame, if he hadn't pushed Harry, he wouldn't have gone off, he was still awake when he herd Harry leave, he should have gone after him but he hadn't. He felt so guilty.
They had tried to go see Harry in the infirmary but Madam Pomfrey had shooed them away and told them they couldn't see him.
Hermione was distraught and he didn't know how to comfort her, he had messed his lessons up the previous day he was to distraught to mess around, with school work.
He knew it was early but he still got out of bed and got dressed quietly. When he got down stairs into the common room he found Hermione was sitting one of the chairs, looking solemn.
She didn't notice him at first then she looked up at him and he smiled weakly at her she did too.
He sat down on a chair next to Hermione.
"I was going to go see him" Ron put in to break the silence.
She sighed. "It can't be that bad he's been in bad scrapes before and we've all ways been aloud to see him, there's something more to this I can feel it." She looked at him and had a determined look in his eyes and he saw a kind of dread there.
"Its still early you think we could sneak in." Ron asked as he got up to go.
"We won't know if we don't try." She put in getting up herself.
They climbed out of the portrait hole and walked down the corridors heading for the infirmary as they neared they herd voices and then a shout, they picked up their pace and came to the partly opened doors of the infirmary they didn't go in, just listened as they edged closer to get a look.
They listened.
"Sirius? Sirius!" Professor Lupin's voice came through the door.
Ron and Hermione looked at each other, Sirius was here.
There were rushed footsteps, and then, "Oh my. What's happened!" Madam
Pomfrey's voice.
"It's alright Poppy I think he has just passed out, if we put him on a bed he should wake up on his own" Dumbledore almost sounded stern.
There was more scuffling and then silence.
"What now?" Remus sounded sad
"That is for Harry to decide but we will all be here for him I'm sure." Dumbledore's voice showed no emotion.
Ron looked at Hermione she looked confused with conflicting emotions, she looked as if she wanted to cry and yet she seemed eager to find out more.
There was a groan and then.
"Sirius?... Sirius!" Remus called.
"Herd you the first time Remus" Sirius' voice was raspy.
There were foot steps and then Sirius asked. "How could this happen?"
"It could not have been predicted, it one more misfortune life had thrown at him, but he is strong he will be alright, we are all here for him." Dumbledore sounded determined.
There was a loud sigh, and then Dumbledore spoke again.
"We should go, I need to discuss some things on this term with you Remus, will you come Sirius?"
There was silence for a moment then an answer. "No I'll stay with him."
Ron and Hermione figured that was there queue and the made a dash for the secret passage behind a mirror on the opposite side of the hall, they listened as the foot steps of their two professors walked away down the corridor.
The two Gryffindor's looked at each other shocked and confused expressions on there faces.
"We have to see him." And before he could stop her Hermione was out and heading for the door of the infirmary again.
She stopped when she got to the door, it was closed and she had a hand reaching out for the door, she wanted to know what as so wrong but she feared what she would see.
"Sirius is in there." Ron commented from behind her.
"Yeah" She answered. "I don't think we can sneak in this time" She shook her head and let her hand drop from the door.
Sirius had watched Remus and the Headmaster leave, and then he turned back to Harry.
So his godson was a werewolf, he hung his head, he knew how hard Remus use to find it trying to hide it from everyone, he didn't want Harry to be the same, but he wouldn't leave his side now, no matter what.
Madam Pomfrey had disappeared some where, he didn't really know where but he knew she would complain when she next saw him.
He changed into his canine form and jumped up on Harry's bed and lay at his feet watching and waiting for the boy to wake up.
Harry was in the graveyard again Cedric lying next to him eyes open his face a portrait of shock, Harry let out a dry sob. "I'm sorry" He whispered.
Then he heard the laughing, evil and full of spite. He turned to face him; Voldemort, he stood wand raised, in mocking salute of the dead Hufflepuff.
But something was different, something was wrong.
Behind the man who Harry hated with a passion, was a pair of glowing green eyes, intense and some what cruel and then from the shadows came a huge black wolf, it looked fierce and for a moment Harry and the monster wolf locked eyes for what seemed a short eternity, Harry felt scared, yet there was a formiyararity with those emerald eyes, so much so that he forgot about Voldemort for a moment, until the laughing started again, the wolf's gaze shifted to Voldemort, the dark wizard not seeming to notice the dark wolf eyeing him evilly.
Harry watched in wonder as the wolf crouched and then pounced on Voldemort as they tumbled to the ground Voldemort disappeared with a scream then the wolf straitened up and turned its eyes on Harry, it sat on it haunches then snarled at him.
Harry's eyes snapped open; it took him a moment to compose himself.
That dream was so strange and it scared him, that wolf it was… it was… him.
He shivered and a stretched out his legs only to find an obstacle in his way he jumped up when it moved, he looked to see Padfoot looking at him.
Harry blinked and the black dog landed on the floor next to him then he became a man again.
He looked at his godfather he didn't want to but he looked him in the eye and he was shocked to see understanding in his eyes, so he knew, and then he was relived to see no pity in those same eyes.
Sirius stepped closer to the bed and looked down at him. "Harry" He gave a wane smile.
Harry looked away. "You know?" He asked in a quiet voice.
Sirius frowned. "I know and I want you to know I'm not going anywhere no matter what, 'kay?"
Harry looked up at that, he so wanted Sirius to stay but if someone saw him if the Ministry found out.
"Don't look at me like that. I'll be careful no one will find me I'll be staying with Remus while he's teaching." Harry could see it in his face he would rather stay by Harry's side but then it made him feel like he was really loved and he had some one to care for him.
Then he thought of the Dursley's, he wouldn't be able to go back there.
They thought him weird enough as he was a wizard how would they take to him changing into a wolf once a month.
He wondered where he would go.
He looked up at Sirius who smiled, and in return he smiled back.
Remus hardly noticed as they walked in silence to Dumbledore's office, and as quick as that they were in front of the stone gargoyle, to which the old professor mumbled the pass word, 'gingerbread imp', and the gargoyle moved aside to let them mount the stairs and clime to the office beyond the oak doors.
Remus couldn't concentrate all he could think about was poor Harry.
He was jostled out of his thoughts by the headmaster's voice. "Remus?"
He looked up to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk. "Sorry professor" He apologised.
The old man looked tired. "We're all worried for him its going to be hard as you full well know, he will have many chooses and new challenges ahead of him, but the future can wait we will help him now." He looked thoughtful but still sad.
Remus hung his head and took a seat in front of Dumbledore.
"I just can't help but feel concerned for the boy, he's James and Lily's son, I feel obligated to help protect him from all other bad things that could possibly happen to him, and I can't help feeling that I have failed them all." Remus lapsed into silence.
Dumbledore looked at his ex-pupil and current DADA teacher, and found his feelings were noble like any Gryffindor his loyalty surpassed all others, he had taken to the death of Lily and James harder than all of them, the infamous Marauders destroyed in just one night, James and Lily dead, Peter supposedly dead, killed by Sirius who was carted off to Azkaban, leaving Remus virtually alone and friendless. Dumbledore could only imagine.
"Remus, Harry will need help he will find this hard he needs someone he can trust, you could not prevent this from happening, you can help Harry in a way no one else can, do this for Lily and James." Dumbledore smiled slightly when Remus looked up a new kind of determination in his eyes.
It was still early on Saturday morning and Ron and Hermione had wandered out into the grounds after what they had heard, they both walked in silence pondering the strange conversation.
Ron was the first to speak. "There's more to this than we're being told, I'm thinking that the acromantula story is a cover up for something bigger." He looked off over at the Forbidden forest.
Hermione was a little surprised that Ron had come up with such a thing, but it was exactly what she was thinking if it wasn't for the fact that she was so worried for
Harry she would have teased him about his observation.
She settled with a nod. "But what are they covering up; I'm sure Harry would tell us if we could only see him." She ended frustrated, and a little flushed.
Ron looked at her she was really riled up; she really could be scary when she wanted to be.
"So what do we know?" Ron asked taking a seat on the bank of the lake.
Hermione sighed and took a seat next to him.
"Well they said he was attacked by acromantula's in the forest by Hagrid's hut. But that brings up the query of why was going to Hagrid's in the first place and I don't think acromantula's would venture this close to the edge of the forest it doesn't make sense." She sighed again and hugged he knees.
Ron looked at his feet, feeling ashamed, it was his fault Harry went off. He looked at Hermione, and swallowed. "I can answer one problem, he…. he probably went to Hagrid's because of me…… he had a nightmare and he woke us all up screaming, and I asked him what it was about, I guised it was about last year, and then he went all mad and started saying how bad he felt at not being able to help Cedric." Ron finished having said it in all one breath and he was breathing heavily trying to regain the lost oxygen.
Hermione looked at him with a mildly shocked expression on her face then it softened.
"It's not your fault." She reassured putting a hand on his shoulder.
"But it is, I heard him get up I could have stopped him…I could have…" He trailed off.
Hermione frowned. "You couldn't have stopped him, he's too stubborn you couldn't have stopped him he wouldn't have listened." Ron knew she was right but he was so angry, he wanted some one to blame he could have blamed the spiders easily, he shuddered, but even he knew something was wrong with the story they were given.
He sat there and accepted what Hermione had said, they would find out soon.
Remus had calmed down a lot since Dumbledore had sorted his lost loyalties out.
They were discussing the new term and what Remus would be teaching, when there was a knock at the door.
"Poppy?" Dumbledore asked.
Said nurse came in and looked at the two worried and expecting faces.
"Ah you wanted to know about Harry, he is healing well, and he should be able to go back to his dorm tomorrow and back in lessons on Monday."
Dumbledore looked happily at Madam Pomfrey.
"Thank you Poppy I appreciate you coming up here." Something of the twinkle returning to his eyes.
Madam Pomfrey left with a nod and walked down the corridor back to the hospital wing, she was happy the boy was better, but sad that now his life was going to change forever.
But he had people there for him, Sirius being one of them of whom she was angry at, as she had found him lying on the bottom of the boys bed as a big black dog, she would have shouted but Harry was asleep at the time.
She walked through the door into the familiar white wash room where she made her living.
She looked over to Harry's bed to see that Sirius had moved and was now lying next to the boy, Harry had his arm raped around the dog and his face buried in the dogs fur, both were asleep breathing softly, she smiled beside herself, they looked so sweet lying there together, she creped passes to her office just before entering she snatched a last glance at the two sleeping, looking so at piece then she closed her door to let them rest.
HP Story Recommendation: Hobo Potter, sequel to The Basement by Marz1 lol set in 4th year the sense of humour is brilliant if you've not read The Basement then go now I implore you.
Next Time: Back In The Running With Changes Harry has a bit of a shock with moving black furry objects, Ron and Hermione finally get to see Harry, Sirius tries to take a chunk out of Malfoy oh and Harry tries to kill him, Ron gets suspicious, and Sirius gets miffed at Harry's predicament.