Harry and Neville said goodbye to Luna as they headed to the Gryffindor table. Harry noticed Ron and Hermione sit a few seats down from where he was, on the opposite side of the table so Harry was sure to see them. He quickly looked away as they glanced in his direction.

"Hey, Harry," Neville said tentatively.

"Yeah Neville?"

"What's up with you, Ron, and Hermione?" he asked.

Harry sighed. "It's a long story," he replied. "They basically ignored me and kept me out of the loop all summer because Dumbledore told them too."

"Really?" Neville asked. "Why would Dumbledore tell them to do that?"

"Well he won't speak with me so I don't know," Harry said. "But Ron and Hermione knew better. They also know how horrible my aunt and uncle's house is and they left me there alone anyway."

"That sucks Harry," Neville said. "Maybe next summer you could stay with me and my Gram for a while? She isn't the nicest either, but at least you won't be alone."

"Thanks Neville," Harry said. "I appreciate the offer." Harry thought about Neville's offer. He felt bad that he had never consider asking Neville for help before. They had quite a bit in common really. As Harry thought about this, the spaces between him and Ron and Hermione began to fill up with his classmates, including Ginny and the twins.

"Hey did you guys see that Grubbly-plank woman?" asked Ginny. "She was getting the first years instead of Hagrid."

"What!?" Harry exclaimed. "I didn't notice that. I was distracted by the…" Harry trailed off, unwilling to mention the strange creatures, "by something else." He turned to scan the staff table, but didn't see Hagrid. "He's not at the table either."

"I hope he's alright," Hermione offered. Harry didn't acknowledge her. He kept scanning the table and noticed a rather familiar toad-like face.

"Hey that woman was at my hearing!" Harry exclaimed.

"What?" asked both Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah!" Harry said. "I'd recognize that face anywhere. She was one of the ones who voted against me!" They all scanned the staff table up and down.

"No," said Hermione suddenly. "It can't be."

"Can't be what?" asked Harry, Ginny, and Ron all at the same time.

"There's only one teaching position open," Hermione answered. "And there is no one else at the table who could fill it."

Harry looked back at the table and realized she was right. He opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly remembered he wasn't meant to be speaking to Hermione and quickly shut it and looked away.

Luckily for Harry, it was time for the entire hall to quiet and welcome the incoming first years. The sorting hat gave them all a lovely warning about being friends, Dumbledore gave his opening speech, announcing the Grubbly-Plank was taking over Care of Magical Creatures and that the ministry woman—Umbridge—was indeed taking the defense position. What followed was a long-winded and rather boring speech by their new professor that Hermione later boiled down to "the ministry is interfering at Hogwarts."

Harry took the opportunity to observe his fellow students who were also not paying attention to their new professor. He noticed Cho chatting animatedly with her friends. She glanced up at him and smiled, to which he smiled back. He wasn't sure if it was out of politeness, simple friendship, or something more. He thought back to his earlier dilemma. Cho had picked Cedric over him. Then, Cedric had died. He remembered her appearing quite upset at not being able to go to the ball with him, but she certainly had seemed happy with Cedric. Where did that leave us, he thought. Then, he remembered his fleeting thoughts about Cedric and his confrontation with Malfoy. He glanced towards the Slytherin table where it was quite easy to find the blond holding court with his peers.

Had he really wanted to date Cho, he asked himself as he watched Malfoy gesture something to his friends. Or had he simply admired her quidditch skills and her natural charm? Harry thought to himself that she was rather pretty. Though as he glanced away from the blond, he thought of Cedric and remember that he wasn't that bad looking either. He was jolted back to reality when everyone started getting up, obviously having been dismissed. What the hell am I even thinking, Harry asked himself.

He absentmindedly started walking towards the Gryffindor common room, but gradually started to notice how the other students were acting around him. Once he noticed it, he couldn't un-notice all the pointing, staring, and whispering that followed him down the hallways. It was only then that he remembered the nasty things the Prophet had been saying about him for months. The last time the students had seen him, he had exited a maze clutching his dead classmate's body and exclaiming that Voldemort was back.

He could understand their actions, but it didn't make it easier to endure. The longer it went on, the jumpier it made Harry. The constant attention made him more and more uncomfortable until he was practically running for the common room, only to arrive and realize that he didn't know the password. He stared at the Fat Lady in a mild panic, before he heard Neville's voice calling to him.

"Harry! Harry!" Harry turned to look at him. "I know the password! And I'll actually be able to remember for once!" he added cheerfully. He turned to the portrait and said, "Mimbulus mimbletonia!" The portrait swung open and Harry thanked Neville before trying to rush to the dorm room. He was stopped, however by Dean.

"Hey Harry," said Dean. "How was your summer?"

"I've had better," he replied. "Yours?"

"Alright," Dean said. "My parents are muggles so they don't really know what's going on. It was much better than Seamus'."

"Why, what happened Seamus?" asked Neville. Harry could feel the whole common room watching them. He wished this conversation could hurry up.

"Me mam didn't want me to come back," Seamus said tersely.

"What?" asked Harry, suddenly interested in the conversation. "Why not?"

"Well," Seamus began, "because of you."

Harry's interest in the conversation immediately dwindled and his anxiety peaked back up again. He felt as though the air was getting harder to breath.

"Suppose she believes the Daily Prophet does she?" Harry finally said aloud, knowing the whole room was listening in.

"Well why shouldn't she?" Seamus asked defensively. "It's not like you've been that liberal with your side of the story. None of us know what happened that night with…with Cedric and all."

"Well why don't you just read the prophet like your mother then?" Harry spat back angrily. Seamus began to defend his mother, but Harry wasn't sticking around to listen. He felt as if he stayed put for one more minute he might suffocate. He stalked off to his room as fast as he could and collapsed next to his bed as soon as the door slammed. He gasped and gasped, struggling to take in air. He jumped when he felt a hand on his back. He looked up to see Neville kneeling down on the floor next to him.

"Breathe," Neville was saying. "Just take deep breaths. Focus on the in and out. This happens to me all the time. It will pass." Harry followed Neville's instructions and within a few minutes he sat back against his bed, his breathing once more under control. It was only then he noticed Ron standing by the closed door looking worried.

"I wanted to help," Ron said quietly. "But I know you're still mad, and I didn't know what to do." He looked down and fidgeted his hands. "Neville said he knew what to do," he added.

"Are you okay Harry?" Neville asked.

Harry got up and moved to unpack his trunk for the sake of something to do. "Not really," he finally said. "Watching a friend die changes you. And I know I shouldn't care what other people think, but a guy can only take so much judgment in one day, you know." Harry glanced up at Neville as he finished speaking. Neville looked as though he understood exactly what Harry meant.

"I get it Harry," Neville said as he began to unpack his own trunk. "Not the watching a friend die part, but everything else. Everyone judges me."

Harry thought about that and quickly realized Neville was right. He wondered how he hadn't noticed the similarities between the two of them before.

"Can I help?" Ron asked quietly. Harry startled and turned towards him. He had forgotten Ron was here if he was being honest. Ron kept going once he realized he finally had Harry's attention. "Look mate, I know how badly I messed up. So does Hermione. We're both so, so sorry. We want to make it up to you. We want to go back to the way things were."

Harry looked away, unsure how to respond. Then, he came across the two-way mirror and remembered what Remus' words about life being easier with friends. He sighed and turned towards Ron.

"I'm not sure it will ever go back to the way it was," he stated, and watched Ron's face fall. "But if you and Hermione are serious about being sorry and making it up to me, I suppose I should give you a chance." Ron looked up at him, a smile growing on his face. "So," Harry paused, trying to figure out how to continue, "this is me agreeing not to continue to ignore you. But it does not mean things are back to normal."

"Absolutely," Ron said enthusiastically. "Whatever you want Harry. Whatever it takes. Hermione and I will make it all up. I promise."

Harry nodded his head and got ready for bed. He was just in time, as Seamus and Dean walked in right after. Harry made sure to grab his mirror and shove it under his pillow as he got into his bed and shut the curtains. He put his wand next to his mirror and drifted off to sleep, completely forgetting to even try to clear his mind.

Next thing he knew he was in a long hallway. It was dark, with only a few sconces to light the walls. It was empty as well. It looked vaguely familiar to Harry as he began to walk down it towards a doorway. He had his wand in one hand and his other dragged along the wall. He heard a sound like footsteps in the distance and smoothly hid himself in an alcove. As he did so, Harry caught sight of himself in a reflection in the smooth marble wall. He saw those oh-so-familiar red, snake eye and realized—he wasn't him!

Harry sprang up in his bed with a jolt, gasping for air. No, it couldn't be he thought. It couldn't be Voldemort. Quietly, so as not to wake his dorm mates, he grabbed his wand and his mirror, and made his way down to the common room. Once he was sure he was alone, he held up the mirror.

"Sirius!" Harry called, as loudly as he dared. "Sirius please answer! Sirius I know it's late, but I need to talk to you."

Harry could here indistinct shuffling and groaning from the other side. He heard something fall to the ground with a thud and the exasperated "shit" that followed. Finally, the rather tired looking face of his godfather appeared in the mirror.

"This better be good," Sirius grumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes. After doing so, he got a better look at Harry through the mirror, and Harry could tell he was immediately wide awake and at full attention. "Bloody hell Harry what's wrong?"

"I don't…I'm not sure Sirius," Harry, said struggling to find words. "I think…remember when you guys said I might be seeing into Voldemort's head?" Sirius nodded. "I think I did it again."

"What did you see?" Sirius asked calmly. His soft tone helped to calm Harry down a bit.

"I was in a long, dark, hallway," Harry answered. "No one was there. I was just walking. Then, I hid after hearing a noise, and that's when I caught sight of my—his—reflection in the wall."

Sirius had blanched as Harry spoke. "Harry wait here," he said as Harry watched him get up and start to move. "I need to go do something, but I'll be right back. Please just stay here."

Before Harry could answer Sirius had placed the mirror down and Harry was stuck staring at the ceiling. He could hear Sirius rush out of the room. Not knowing what to do, and feeling less calm now that Sirius wasn't there to ground him, he began pacing. He paced in silence for a few minutes before being startled by a voice.

"Everything okay?" Harry swirled around to see Ron standing on the dormitory stairs. He walked the rest of the way into the common room. "I woke up and saw you were gone. I wanted to make sure everything was alright. You don't look alright."

Harry took a deep breath before answering. "I had another dream. Vision. Whatever you want to call it. I needed to talk to Sirius, but when I told him what I saw and he ran off. He told me to wait."

"What did you see?" Ron asked. Harry recounted his dream to Ron, who was just as baffled by its meaning as Harry himself was. By the time he had finished, he could hear footsteps through the mirror. A few seconds later Sirius' face reappeared.

"Sorry about that Harry," Sirius said. "Your dream had me worried someone from the Order was in danger. I had to sound the alarm and check on them."

"Who was in danger?" Harry asked, Ron crowding in to look in the mirror too. "What does my dream mean?"

"What it means I don't know Harry," Sirius said with a sigh. "But as to your other questions, I'm afraid that's Order business. No, no," he interrupted seeing Harry about to protest, "I won't budge on that. You have too much on your plate already. What I will ask, is that if you have more of these dreams, please tell me or one of your professors. The ones you can trust that is," Sirius added.

"You're really not going to tell me what's going on?" Harry asked.

"No," Sirius insisted. "And I know it's a lot to ask for your confidence when I won't give you all of mine, but remember I have to think like a parent Harry. And I think it's best you don't know right now."

Harry sighed. He could tell by Sirius' tone of voice he wasn't going to budge. "Okay, fine. But I don't like it."

"Neither would I, in your situation," Sirius admitted. "You also aren't going to like what I have to say next. Unfortunately, this just proves the importance of your occlumency lessons with Snape. Keep doing your best to practice what he's already taught you, and be on the lookout for a message instructing you of your next lesson. It's imperative that we keep Voldemort out of your head Harry."

"Yeah, yeah I know," Harry said.

"I have to go now Harry," Sirius said. "There are more things, and people, the Order needs to check in on now. But I'll keep the mirror on me. Don't hesitate to contact if you need me."

"Thanks Sirius," Harry said. And with that, his godfather was gone. He wasn't quite ready to try to sleep yet, so Ron, eager to regain Harry's good graces, challenged him to a game of wizard's chess. By the time Harry had been thoroughly destroyed, he felt ready to give sleep another go. He took special care to clear his mind this time, and slept peacefully until morning.

The following morning saw the first day of classes. Harry coolly greeted Ron and Hermione, but went with Neville to breakfast. Angelina informed him of her ascension to quidditch captain and the upcoming tryouts on Friday. They received their schedules, and then both lamented on their unfortunate luck.

"Double history of magic, double potions, divination, AND double defense," Neville exclaimed. "Are they trying to get us to quit or something?"

Harry had to agree with him, and then after hearing Fred and George explain the difficulty of O.W.L.s, Harry was starting to think he really would have been better off with Sirius. They begrudgingly grabbed their bags and heading off to Binn's classroom.

"Hey Harry," Neville began, waiting until Harry turned his way, "have you thought about what to do after school?"

"Not really," Harry said. "But then again, I don't really know what there is to do, being raised by muggles and all. I suppose being an Auror would be pretty cool."

"Oh yeah Harry," Neville said. "You would make a good Auror. And you're smart enough too." Neville looked down and quietly said, "I don't think I'm smart enough to do anything."

Harry stopped to look at his friend. Neville stopped too and looked at Harry bewildered. "That's not true Neville. And you shouldn't think like that. I bet there's loads of things you could do if you wanted."

Neville shook his head. "I don't know. I'm bad a pretty much everything except herbology."

Harry thought about that as he continued walking. Suddenly a thought struck him. "You know what Neville? I think you just need the right encouragement. Everyone's always putting you down. This year, I'll be there. I'll help you with your other classes."

"Really!?" Neville asked.

"Absolutely!" Harry responded. "I mean, I'm not genius like Hermione, but I'm still pretty decent in most classes. And besides, I'll learn by helping you too."

"Gee Harry thanks! I can help with herbology if you want?"

"Sure, Neville. That would be great." With that settled, Harry and Neville continued on to history of magic, where Harry contemplated his promise while Professor Binn's droned on for two hours. He started compiling a mental list of things they needed—an empty classroom for starters—and a list of spells they should begin with. By the time they started to make their way to potions, Harry was feeling rather excited at the idea of teaching Neville.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he didn't see Cho until he had almost run into her.

"Oh, hey Cho," Harry sputtered out. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention." At least I'm not covered in stinksap this time, he thought.

Cho obviously thought the same thing, as after she had assured him it was fine, she added, "So you got that stuff off huh?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a laugh. He playfully shoved Neville. "But this guy isn't allowed to bring anymore plants near me." Cho laughed and Harry thought again that she was rather pretty, but he just wasn't sure he felt the same about her as he did last year.

"How was your summer?" Cho asked, interrupting his musings.

"Uhh," Harry paused, unsure of how to answer that. As he thought about it, his gaze wondered to behind Cho, where a very familiar blond Slytherin was attempting to covertly stare at them with a thinly veiled layer of contempt. Seeing he'd been caught, Malfoy turned away with a blush. Harry didn't know what it meant, but he decided to milk the moment for what it was worth. "Oh, you know, really boring," he said. "My relatives are ridiculous, and I didn't really do much. It's much better being back here at Hogwarts. The company is a drastic improvement," he added with a smile.

Cho beamed, clearly assuming Harry was referring to her with his last comment. Behind her, he saw Draco scowl and storm off in the direction of potions. This reminded Harry that it was best he and Neville not be late, so he said his goodbyes to Cho and they hurried off to their next class.

Snape of course, gave them an incredibly difficult potion to brew on the first day back. Something about "preparing them for their OWLs." Harry, for one, couldn't wait to not have to take potions anymore. As he went about making his potion, he saw Malfoy out of the corner of his eye. He wondered why the Slytherin had acted the way he did. Was he still angry about what Harry had said on the train? Or was he angry that Harry was talking with Cho? He wasn't sure, and before he could get any closer to figuring it out, he was interrupted by a gruff voice.

"Perhaps Potter," Snape drawled, "if you weren't so busy day dreaming, you might be capable of brewing a half-decent potion." Harry looked down at his potion and noticed it was emitting a rather dark gray cloud, rather than a thin silver mist as it should have been. "Tell me Potter, can you read?"

Harry could see Malfoy and the other Slytherins giggling behind Snape. "Yes Professor."

"Oh really?" Snape asked with a smirk. "Then, please read to me the third line on the board." Harry read it out loud, realizing as he did so he had forgotten to add one of the ingredients. "And did you do all of those steps?" Snape asked condescendingly.

"No sir," Harry responded.

"No?" Snape asked. "Then I suppose this is useless then." With that, Snape waved his wand and Harry's potion vanished. "Zero points today."

Harry stalked out of the classroom after they were dismissed. He was as angry as he had been when he arrived at Grimmauld Place. How dare Snape do that to him? He was used to harsh treatment from his potions professor, but he had really thought they had grown closer over the summer. When he remembered how he had confided in Snape about his scars, his anger turned inward at his own stupidity. He resolved to confront Snape at their next lesson.

In the meantime, he had a few minutes before divination, and he knew how to relieve some of emotions currently filling his head. He felt in his pocket for the razor he still carried everywhere, and headed off to the nearest toilet.