The same dreams continued, although Harry felt everytime he was getting closer and closer. He had made it through the door in his latest dream, and was now gliding down aisles, as if he was searching for something. It was all very confusing, and the interrupted sleep meant he was often tired during the day. He was determined to do well in his lessons, so as not to give Hermione a reason to crow over him. She had been surprised to see that he had come second to her in most of their lessons last year. Ron had finished in the bottom half.

Umbridge was another pain in his ass. As High Inquisitor she had banned all clubs and societies, insisting they re-apply to her. Harry hadn't given it much consideration until Angelina told him it included Quidditch teams. Slytherin had been allowed to re-form immediately, but she was 'thinking' about Gryffindors options. In the end, it was Dumbledore who insisited that they be allowed to continue.

The first match was Slytherin vs Gryffindor. Ron was terribly nervous and couldn't eat his breakfast. He hadn't done particularly well in their training sessions either, and Harry could see Angelina shooting worried looks at him.

From the Slytherin table, Draco and some of the other Slytherin team were whispering together and looking at Ron too. Harry had a bad feeling about them. He looked for Ginny but didn't see her.

She was there when the two teams shook hands. "Good luck, Harry," she said genuinely.

"Good luck for your first game, Gin," he said.

They got on their brooms and flew in the air. Madame Hooch blew the whistle and the game was on.

Slytherin grabbed the quaffle first and headed for goal. Warrington, Weasley and Montague shared it amongst themselves when Warrington slammed a goal home for Slytherin. Harry saw Ron looked ashamed and felt sorry for him.

The crowd cheered and Harry noticed they were singing some sort of song. Unfortunately, as he made out the words, it made him angry. Harry hoped Ron couldn't hear it, but as his ears and face were getting redder all the time, Harry suspected he could.

It also made Ron lose his focus on the game. Before Harry knew it, Slythering were 60-10. Ginny had scored a couple of goals, with Ron shooting death glares at her. His confidence was getting shot down with every goal they made.

"For God's sake Potter, catch the Snitch and end this game," implored Angelina, rubbing her arm. Crabbe and Goyle, the new beaters on the Slytherin team weren't great fliers, but had brute strength on their side.

"I'm trying," said Harry, as the Slytherin's singing got louder.

Ginny looked upset too. She kept her gaze focused on the Quaffle and avoiding the beaters. She had scored four goals and was doing well for her first game.

Harry suddenly saw the Snitch. He raced after it, with Draco Malfoy hot on his tail. Draco bumped and knocked him, just as the Snitch changed direction and it practically flew into his outstretched hand. He held it up. Just as Madame Hooch blew her whistle, Crabbe sent a bludger right into his left side. Harry almost fell off his broom, but Fred and George flew to his side and flew down carefully with him.

"Saved Weasley's neck, didn't you Potter," sneered Draco, furious. "Did you like my lyrics, Potter."

Harry turned away. His side hurt. He saw Ron walk away, his head down as he headed for the change rooms. He saw Ginny watching him too.

"We wanted to write more, but we couldn't find words to rhyme with fat and ugly-we wanted to write about his mother, see-"

Harry could see Ginny hadn't overheard this, and he was glad. He saw her hurry after Ron.

"-or useless loser, you know, for his dad," laughed Draco, maliciously.

Fred and George launched themselves at Draco, while Harry drew back his fist and punched him in the stomach. Katie and Angelina were trying to pull Fred, George and Harry away from Draco. Crabbe and Goyle.

A whistle blew and Madame Hooch came over followed by Professor Umbridge.

"What do you think you are doing?" screamed Madame Hooch."I've never seen such behavior during a Quidditch game at Hogwarts."

""em, hem"

Everyone turned around to see Dolores Umbridge.

"Back to the castle. Go see your Heads of House immediately," snapped Madame Hooch.

"That won't be necessary. Under Educational Decree Number Twenty five, I now have supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removal of priviliges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts, et cetera, et cetera, signed Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, Order of Merlin First Class-" said Umbridge.

"et cetera, et cetera," said Fred and George together.

Umbridge shot them a nasty look. "So with this new authority, I find my only recourse is to ban you three from playing ever again," she said, smiling.

"Ban us?" asked Harry, not sure if he had heard correctly.

"From playing...?" asked George, stunned.

"Ever again?" asked an equally stunned Fred.

"Yes. Of course, I shall want their brooms confiscated as well. I shall keep them in my office to make sure there is no infringement on the ban. The rest of the team may continue playing, I saw no signs of violence from them. Well, good day to you," said Umbridge, starting to walk back to the castle.

"What just happened?" asked Angelina, in a daze. "Am I dreaming, having a nightmare? No beaters, no Seeker...excuse me while I go and drown myself in the change rooms."

"That'll put us down a Chaser as well," growled George. He, Fred and Harry looked at each other in disbelief. "What the- hey where's Ron?"

They went to the boy's changerooms in time to see Ginny storm off back to the castle. She and Ron had obviously had words.

"What the bloody hell is going on with our family," snapped Fred.

"What happened Ron?" asked George, as they got closer. "Is Gin okay?"

"Came over to congratulate me for winning. What a joke. I played terrible, I'm going to quit," said Ron gloomily.

"Great, then we'll be down a Keeper too. Can you please not say that around Angelina?" begged Fred.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron. The others filled him in, and he got angry.

"Bloody Slytherins. Bloody Malfoy," snarled Ron.

Draco and the rest of the team happened to walk past then. "Enjoy your celebrations, Weasel. Potter and your brothers won't be there to save you next time."

They walked off singing "Weasley is our King'.

Ron's face was red, as was the twins when they heard about being 'born in a bin'. They all headed for the showers, and there really wasn't any celebrating that night.

The next morning at breakfast Draco sidled up to Ginny. "Hey, I looked for you last night. Just wanted to say good game yesterday." He snagged a piece of her toast and ate it.

Ginny sighed in frustration. She picked up her knife and fork, and continued eating her eggs on toast. "Thanks, although I don't like your tactics. Funny, none of those were mentioned in our practice."

"Come on, Weasley. You have to improvise, use what you've got. Any sign of weakness, you've got to flaunt it. It's the difference between winning and losing," said Draco, licking his fingers.

"Did you have to do that to Ron?" asked Ginny. "He was already nervous, did you have to humiliate him like that?"

"A team is only as strong as their weakest link. He's hopeless," laughed Draco. "Pity we couldn't sing our full song."

"Yeah, I heard about the extra verses you wanted to sing, about his mother and father," said Ginny, in a dangerously quiet voice.

Draco laughed and went to snag another piece of toast. He yelped, as her fork pierced the back of his hand. "What the hell?" He pulled it away, rubbing it.

Ginny leaned closer to him. "You may have forgotten, but that is also MY mum and dad you're making fun of. I better not hear it again, understood?"

Draco looked into Ginny's eyes. He had forgotten that Weasel's parents were hers too. He intended to make some smart ass comment, but he could see she was deadly serious, and she actually looked-dangerous? He smirked, but Ginny's eyes narrowed and he felt a frission of fear as he felt a jolt of magic run over him.

"Understood?" she repeated, in a dark voice. He nodded warily and got up to go.

She grabbed his cloak, and brought him back down close to her face. "And don't ever touch my food again."

He nodded, and left her to continue eating her breakfast. He went back to his dormmates, but kept a close eye on her for the rest of the meal.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Ron, Neville and Harry had been watching what had happened too. Once their breakfast was over, Harry hurried out to catch up with Ginny.

"Hey, sorry I missed you yesterday. You flew great," said Harry.

Ginny smiled. "Thanks. Great catch, by the way. And, um, sorry about your ban."

"Did you know Hagrid's back, wanna go and visit?" asked Harry, not wanting to talk about that. He'd woken, hoping it had all been a bad dream.

"Sure," agreed Ginny, glad it was the weekend.

They were both alarmed at the sight of Hagrid's face when he opened the door. He tried to reassure them he was okay. He did tell them he'd been on a mission for the Order, to try and get help from the giants. It hadn't gone well, though.

Ginny and Harry warned him about Dolores Umbridge, who had been evaluating all the professors. Hagrid said she used to work closely with Fudge at the Ministry.

"Probably Fudge's way of keeping an eye on Dumbledore and anyone they reckon is in league with 'im. All this talk about You-Know-Who has got Fudge running scared," said Hagrid.

They stayed for an hour, catching up on each others news. While they were walking back to the castle, they discussed their Christmas plans. Both were returning to Grimmauld Place to share the holiday with Sirius. They both hoped that Professor Lupin would join them.

As they walked back, they were joined by Tracey, Daphne and Astoria. They joined them in making a snowman, then had a snowball fight. It was a lot of fun, and Harry headed back to Gryffindor Tower to change before tea, as Ginny had shoved snow down his top.

That night he decided to do some Arithmancy revision, happy to see the surprised look in Hermione's eyes. Neville joined him, and Harry headed for bed feeling like, apart from Quidditch, his lessons were going well and he was prepared for his OWLS.

That night he dreamed of the hall. He slithered along it, seeing an obstacle up ahead. 'Attack, attack', his mind screamed. With horror, Harry realised that he was attacking Sirius. He woke up suddenly. Neville was standing over him, looking worried.

"Mate, you're shaking. What's going on?" he asked Harry.

"Must stop Quaffle," moaned Ron, half asleep.

"I need to speak to Dumbledore," said Harry, shakily. He got out of bed and nearly collapsed. Neville caught him in time.

"Hey, I've got you. Here," he said, passing him his dressing gown.

He held onto Harry as they left the tower. Harry gathered it was close to, or just after midnight.

"Potter, Longbottom, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Professor Mcgonagall. She was on patrol.

"I had a vision. It was Sirius, he was attacked in a long hall by a snake. I need to speak to Dumbledore," insisted Harry.

Mcgonagall hurried them to the headmaster's office. "Lemon drops," she said, to the griffen door, and it started to turn.

"Blimey," said Neville. "I've never been here before."

"Lucky you," said Harry.

Dumbledore was waiting for them. "Sir, I had a vision. I've been having them all term. I think Sirius has been attacked by a snake," said Harry.

Dumbledore turned to the portraits. "Phineas, check in at Grimmauld Place. Sirius was on guard duty tonight. Armando, please get in touch with the Weasleys at the Burrow, have Arthur on standby."

"What's going on Professor?" asked Harry. "What are you guarding, and where?"

"It's the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Mysteries to be exact," said Dumbledore. He was interrupted by Phineas, who, Harry recalled, was a relation of Sirius' somehow.

" He's badly hurt, been bitten several times. Arthur's on his way to take his place. Sirius has been returned to his home. Andromeda is tending to him," said Phineus.

"Well done," said Dumbledore. "Well Harry, well done, you saved Sirius. Now, off to bed. I'll see you in the morning, let you know if I have any news," said Dumbledore.

"What? I'm not waiting around. I want to see him now," yelled Harry.

"You'll be returning to him tomorrow when you leave for the Christmas break," said Dumbledore, "although maybe it would be safer for you should stay here." He looked happy at the thought.

"Not necessary, Professor. I've come to take Harry tonight," said Remus, stepping through the floo.

"Very well," said Dumbledore, obviously not happy with the arrangements.

"What about Ginny?" asked Harry. He made plans to sit with her, Neville and Luna on the train ride home.

"There is no point in waking Miss Weasley at this hour. She will catch the train tomorrow," said Dumbledore.

"I'll meet her at Kings Cross myself," said Remus to Harry. "We need to go now."

"Well, if she's pissed off at not coming tonight, I'm blaming you," warned Harry.

Remus smiled. "Thanks for the heads up. Neville, thank you," said Remus, turning to the forgotten boy.

"Yeah, thanks for your help, Nev, " said Harry. Neville nodded.

"Let's get you home, Harry," said Remus, pointing to the floo.

"Remus. I'll be in touch," said Dumbledore.

Remus said nothing, just put his hand on Harry's shoulder to guide him to the fireplace.

He put some floo powder into the fire. "Grimmauld Place," he said, and felt himself being whizzed away.

He almost fell out of the fireplace at the other end. He heard laughter as he stood up and dusted himself off. He saw a young woman standing there watching him. Her hair was bright pink.

"Wotcher, Harry. I'm Tonks, Andromeda's daughter," she said.

The floo lit up and Remus stepped out. "Tonks," he said, in acknowledgement. "How is he?"

"Mum's still with him. Poppy Pomfrey just got here too," said Tonks.

"Madame Pomfrey's here too?" asked Harry.

Remus nodded. "He's pretty bad, Harry." The mood in the room turned grim.

"What bit him? What was he guarding?" asked Harry.

"A bloody big snake. We reckon Voldemort commanded it to attack anything stopping it from getting into the Department of Mysteries," said Remus. "Luckily Tonks was working upstairs and was able to get Sirius out of there as soon as we got your message from Dumbledore, Harry. The less people know about the attack, the better."

"But what was he guarding? What's so important about the Department of Mysteries?" asked Harry, following Remus and Tonks into the kitchen. He nodded when Tonks offered to make hot chocolate for all of them, then winced as she dropped a cup.

"Reparo," called Remus, sitting down and running his hands through his thinning hair. Harry looked to Tonks, surprised that she was watching Remus so closely. Seeing Harry watching her made her hair turn blue. She flushed and turned back to preparing the drinks.

"There is word that Voldemort is seeking a prophecy, which is stored in the Department of Mysteries. Dumbledore hasn't said why he wants it. We had a man on the inside, by the name of Bode, but he was injured recently. Albus has asked the Order to guard it at night." said Remus.

"Have you seen the snake before?" asked Harry.

Remus and Tonks both shook their head.

"I've been dreaming about it for weeks," said Harry miserably. If he'd told Dumbledore before, maybe Sirius wouldn't have been attacked.

"He'll be all right, won't he?" asked Harry. He saw Remus and Tonks exchange worried looks. "Remus? Sirius will be all right, won't he?"

"We got to him quickly. That should help," said Remus. "Ah, thank you Nymphadora," as she placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of him, spilling some on the table.

"Tonks!" she growled. She smiled as she placed a cup in front of Harry.

"What do you do at the Ministry, Tonks?" he asked.

"I'm an Auror, just up on the second floor," she said, sitting down and spilling her hot chocolate.

"That sounds interesting," said Harry. "My Dad was an Auror." Remus nodded, but said nothing.

Andromeda and Poppy came into the kitchen. "We've done all we can for now. He needs rest and we'll see how he is in the morning. One of us will stay with him tonight," said Andromeda, gratefully accepting a cup of hot chocolate from her daughter.

"I'll watch him throughout the night. You go home to Ted and get some sleep. With the students leaving tomorrow, I can catch up on my sleep when they're gone," said Poppy. Andromeda nodded in agreement.

"So, he'll be okay?" asked Harry, looking between the two.

"The next twelve hours are crucial Harry, but Sirius is strong minded," smiled Poppy.

"Can I see him?" he asked her. She hesitated, then nodded. "Just a peek."

She got up and Harry followed her upstairs. She opened Sirius' bedroom door and Harry peeked in. He had bandages on his arms, neck and face, and twitched as he slept.

"Can't I stay in here with him?" he asked.

Poppy shook her head. "No, sorry. We need to give him a Blood Replenishing potion every hour and you need your sleep. You can spend some time with him tomorrow, all going well."

"You'll wake me if anything changes?" asked Harry. Poppy nodded and ushered him out. Harry went back downstairs and found Andromeda and Tonks preparing to leave.

"I'll be back early, so Poppy can return to Hogwarts. Dora, are you working tomorrow?" asked Andromeda.

Tonks nodded. "Got the midday shift, so I'll be over tomorrow night."

"Let us know if you hear anything in the office," said Remus. Tonks nodded, then saw Harry.

"Wotcher Harry. I'll see you later, yeah. Don't worry about Sirius, he's a tough old dog."

Remus and Harry smiled at that. They saw the women off, then closed the floo.

"Andromeda is Sirius' cousin. She's trained as a healer and is a member of the Order," said Remus before Harry could ask.

"Oh. Right,"said Harry.

"Come on, Harry, off to bed. Things will look brighter in the morning," said Remus.

Harry nodded and went upstairs. He realised all the clothes he planned to bring home over Christmas were in his packed bag in the dorm at Gryffindor Tower. Oh well, at least he had his pyjamas already on.

"Okay, but you will wake me...you know, if anything happens?" asked Harry. Remus nodded, watching Harry go up the stairs. He hesitated and looked back down.

"Goodnight," he called.

"Goodnight Harry," said Remus. He went back to the kitchen, grabbed a glass and the bottle of Firewhiskey he knew Sirius had stashed at the back of the cupboard. He went to the loungeroom. It was going to be a long night.

Harry woke the next morning to find Andromeda had arrived and was seeing Poppy off. "How's Sirius?" he asked them immediately.

"Good morning Harry," said Poppy. "He had a good night and is now resting comfortably. He is asleep but should be awake by lunch time."

"Thank you. Oh, thank you for helping him," said Harry, hugging her unexpectedly. She seemed surprised, but patted his back.

"I need to leave, but I'll return later with those extra potions, Andi," she said. "Goodbye."

"Bye," said Andromeda and Harry. He followed her into Sirius room. His colour did look better and he seemed more comfortable. Harry let out a breath. Sirius was going to be fine.

"Go on, now. Go have some breakfast. I think Remus has a surprise for you downstairs," chuckled Andromeda.

"But it's not Christmas for another couple of days yet," laughed Harry. "I'll be back later."

Andromeda shooed him off and he went downstairs in a good mood. It didn't last, for as soon as he entered the kitchen he heard the words-

"Harry Potter, you ass."

It was a furious Ginny Weasley!