Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter as much as I wish I did. Please don't sue. You'll get about $20 for your trouble! (Actually about $5 now since I've done my Christmas shopping . . . LOL!)

AN: Sorry for the vast delay but RL (Real Life) reared its ugly head again. I promise I won't leave a month go by for the next update. I have nearly half of chapter 8 typed out as well and I will post it after I get a few reviews (and after I fix a problem or two with a plot hole the size of the Grand Canyon that I've written myself into). Please review!! Thank you to all who have reviewed and happy reading!!

Not quite an hour later, the silence was shattered by an agonizing scream. Harry's hand clenched his scar as he convulsed. Low gurgling noises came from his throat as he battled the visions in his dream. Harry was in a dark stone chamber which he thought, at first, was the chamber of secrets. He looked closer but didn't see any snakes decorating the doors. Instead there was a large black bird with rubies for eyes. As the pain in his scar continued Harry realized that he was seeing through Voldemort's eyes. Then he heard his dream self speak. "We are almost there my humble slaves. We must succeed in finding the one thing that will guarantee my victory. The lost wand of Grindelwald is nearly ours. Then we shall start our attack by eliminating Harry Potter," Voldemort said while Harry was helplessly trapped in the dark lord's mind. Harry's body began to convulse again as the strain of being possessed by Voldemort became too much. Another scream tore through the air frantically.

The portrait of Lily and James sprung to life as James bolted to his other portrait in the Headmaster's room to wake Dumbledore after listening to Harry's screams and cries for the last few minutes. The noise also woke Hermione who bolted upright in bed and tore open the door between her room and Harry's. Her face palled to sheet white as she watched him thrashing about, his scar bleeding freely. Then Hermione sprang into action. Crossing to the bed she wrapped her arms around him in a death grip waiting for his convulsions to cease.

"ALBUS," James screamed as popped into his other portrait in Dumbledore's chambers.

At the noise the Headmaster nearly jumped out of bed and turned to see what had woken him. "What happened to Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"He's having a nightmare, I think. He woke Lily and I with his screaming but there aren't any portraits in his room so we couldn't tell for sure," James said.

"I had hoped, now that he was wearing the ring, that the dreams would be reduced," Albus said with a frown.

"He's wearing The Ring of Merlin? Does he know what it means?" James asked, remembering clearly some of the problems that had started on his sixteenth birthday when he put the ring on his finger.

"He does not know yet about the full legacy. Only that it may help him down the road, and that it means he is the true owner of the sword of Gryffindor which I also gave to him," Dumbledore said.

"And let me guess, his Leglimancy skills are stronger than his Occlumency skills so instead of helping him block things out it is increasing the strength of what he sees and feels in his dream," James said.

"It appears that way. Let us go and I'll tend to him," Dumbledore said, striding down the stairs and across the room to the door leading to the secret room where Harry and his friends now lived. James quickly popped back into his portrait with Lily to watch over the scene.

Just after Hermione had thrown her arms around Harry she felt the room begin to spin somewhat violently. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears along with a second pulsing beat. 'Is that Harry's heart beating?' Hermione asked herself. The colours swam before her, each brighter than the last. She could also smell that scent, Harry's scent, as if it were a part of herself. Salty tears wet her lips and she tasted each drop as she never had before. Then one more sensation burst into her mind. She could feel a myriad of emotions, including a deep fear that she knew she was not feeling. Hermione allowed herself to absorb these foreign feelings coming in waves from Harry's still trembling body in her arms. She smiled at his happiness, cried with his pain, and at long last knew that he loved her as much as she loved him. Hermione felt his love, though deeply hidden away, seep from his soul. It soon filled the room with its presence. "Why didn't you ever tell me you loved me this much?" Hermione asked.

Harry felt someone, or something, reach out to grab him. He did the only thing he could do at the time. He screamed in pain, desperate to fight the intruder. Before his second scream could leave his lips, another swirl of light filled the room and Harry suddenly could see colour again. In his dream it had been all dark with swirls of ominous green fog. Now he saw everything in sharp detail. His ears picked up the rapid heartbeat of the person who now gently held him in bed. Harry recognized the feel of those hands, the sound of that heartbeat. 'It's just Hermione,' Harry thought, starting to relax in her arms. He could smell her shampoo and the light scent of the body spray she liked to wear. He realized quickly that he could sense her fear and sadness and a third emotion that seemed to overpower everything else, her love for him. Harry would have opened his eyes in an instant to soothe Hermione if his scar didn't choose that moment to explode like a white-hot poker, rendering him nauseous.

Hermione felt Harry tense in her arms as his hand clenched his scar. She could see the blood run faster from between his fingers and panic started to creep into the pit of her stomach. Hermione's hand moved his hair aside and she somehow moved his hand away and gently pressed her own small hand over his scar. She was aware that she might hurt him but she needed to help him ease the pain. She almost jerked her hand away when she first made contact. Hermione wasn't aware that it would be hot to the touch, as if the lighting bolt were charged with real electricity. She simply bit her lower lip and pressed her hand even more firmly against Harry's head, waiting for him to calm again.

In the other room, Ron lay trembling. He could see darkness all around him. It was a strange room filled with ominous green fog that swirled everywhere. He could feel vague faint hints that reminded him of Harry. Short bursts of terror and fear and an undercurrent of courage flooded his senses. Something else filled the air a moment later and Ron was surrounded by colour and a sense of peace. Images of his friends in Harry's room played before his eyes. He could tell exactly what was happening without being there. Ron jumped from under his covers and raced towards the other room. He needed to be there. "What the bloody hell happened?" Ron asked, coming into the room. His face was extremely pale and covered in sweat as though he'd run a marathon.

"He's had the worst nightmare yet. I had to hold him down to stop him from screaming," Hermione answered.

"I know what happened to Harry. I want to know why I saw it all without being in this room," Ron said.

"I think we need to see Dumbledore. Something strange happened to me as well, when I touched Harry," Hermione said, worrying her lower lip.

"What?" Ron asked. He noticed that Hermione had her hand pressed over Harry's scar and that her hand was starting to tremble while at the same time Harry was slowly relaxing into her arms. "Merlin, Hermione, you're an empath. From the way Harry is reacting, I'll bet anything that he is too. Should I go get Dumbledore?" Ron asked, realizing that neither of his friends were in a state to go anywhere.

"How do you know, Ron?" Hermione asked.

"My mum told me about it once. She said it was a rare magical gift, like being a Metamorphmagi or a Seer. I don't know much more than that," Ron said.

"I believe I can answer that in more detail," Professor Dumbledore said. He was standing in the only doorway that the trio hadn't yet explored. The door that led directly to his office.

"Please Professor. I can't wake him," Hermione said, worried as Harry's breathing became rather shallow.

Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry and sighed. "As usual it is much worse for Harry, although all three of you now have a rather hard cross to bear," he said. He looked at Harry for a moment longer before pulling out his wand and touching it to the boy's chest. "Enerviate," the Headmaster said, waking Harry at last from the prison of his nightmare.

Even though Harry had woken, Hermione still kept her hand over his scar. It was painfully hot against her suddenly ice cold hand. The same hand that now shook as his emotions flowed through her rapidly. Then it hit one particular feeling which caused Hermione to break their link. "No, Harry, you can't think that way," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "HARRY JAMES POTTER, HOW CAN YOU THINK EVEN FOR ONE MOMENT THAT YOU'D BE BETTER OFF DEAD!" Hermione yelled in shock. Tears flooded her cheeks as she saw what her yelling had done to Harry and she flung herself over him on the bed. "I already told you, Harry, that I don't know what I'd do without you. Oh Harry, . . . I love you. I know you don't have much experience with love but I promise you that no matter what happens I'll be here when you need me," Hermione said. She kissed his cheeks and forehead. Then she took a shaky breath and gently pressed her lips to his much as she had done to wake him up after he had been attacked on Privet Drive.

"Mione?" Harry said, the kiss causing him to come back to reality. Then he flinched at their bodies proximity. "You're too close, Mione. He'll . . . I'll hurt you," Harry said.

"It's not you, Harry. It's Voldemort. You have to fight what he's telling you. You would never hurt me and you know it. You also know that I'm not afraid of Voldemort," Hermione said, saying the monster's name without a tremble of fear in her voice.

"That's good. I am," Harry said softly, tears forming in his normally bright eyes. They were a dull jade green, full of pain and sorrow.

A tear slipped from Albus Dumbledore's wise azure eyes. His heart broke thinking how very close they all were to watching Harry turn into a mere shadow on the wall. 'I'm sorry Harry for all that I've done. And all that I've failed to do in keeping you safe,' Albus thought to himself.

"So what happened tonight?" Ron asked, looking back and forth from Harry to Dumbledore.

"I'll start with you Mr. Weasley. It appears that you are a seer. You tuned into your friends this evening and you were able to see what was happening," Dumbledore said.

"If I'm a seer, why did I do so bloody awfully in Divination?" Ron asked.

"Your gift appears to have been hidden until it was needed, and it will be in the months ahead. You can train yourself to tune into your friends and sense when they are in danger," Dumbledore said.

"Well, I'd better prepare myself to see a lot then. Harry has an uncanny knack for attracting danger," Ron said, trying to break the heavy blanket of tension in the room.

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "That he does, Mr. Weasley, that he does," the Headmaster agreed. All of a sudden he looked much older than Harry, Ron, and Hermione remembered and it made them sad.

Hermione sat up after her outburst and wrapped her arms around Harry's waist. She was relieved that he hadn't completely pushed her away. "What happened with Harry and I?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"As Mr. Weasley pointed out, my dear, you are an empath. At some point you started to be able to feel what Harry was feeling. In return he felt what you were feeling. It was so strong I would hazard that even Mr. Weasley had a few glimpses of the emotions involved. As I said, Harry, you are a complex situation for not only are you a strong empath but also a seer. Not all of the visions you keep having are Voldemort's intrusions into your mind," Dumbledore said.

"So when I could tell that it was Hermione trying to help me it was me feeling her emotions. Everything was so bright and I could almost feel her hand in mine even before she touched me. I felt her love for me and it made me come back," Harry said.

"Oh Harry. It was the same for me. All of a sudden I could tell how much pain you were in and all I wanted to do was to make it go away. So I put my hand over your scar. It was so hot I think it burned my palm," Hermione said, tightening her hold on Harry.

"I feel strangely peaceful. Thank you, Mione. I can tell that was your influence and I'm sorry I upset you with my thoughts before," Harry said, squeezing her hand.

"You're welcome, Harry. You deserve some peace. I just wish you didn't feel that way, but I still won't let you go," Hermione said, leaning down to kiss him again, this time on the cheek.

"It seems the two of you are able to use your gift fairly well. If everything is settled a bit, we should all retire for the night. I believe your OWL's will be here in the morning and you may want to consider re-taking at least one of your tests as I know there were circumstances out of the ordinary last spring," Professor Dumbledore said.

Harry looked around the room closely watching Ron's face. "You saw my dream didn't you, Ron?" Harry asked, picking up on his friend's unease.

"It was awful. I couldn't stop the connection," Ron said, his face losing much of its colour.

"We can discuss the dream tomorrow. I know you've used a Pensive before, Harry, you can show your friends," Dumbledore said, standing up, preparing to leave.

"Yes sir. Professor Dumbledore . . . does Mione have to leave me all alone tonight? I know what adults usually think, and you know we have feelings for each other, but she's keeping me calm and I don't want any more dreams," Harry said, not quite able to say that he loved Hermione, out loud anyway.

"You know I'm not thinking that, Harry," Dumbledore said. With a wave of his wand Hermione and Harry's room became one large room with two beds, matching desks, and a two-person couch set in front of the fireplace. "There's Floo powder in the box if you need to contact me in the middle of the night. Otherwise you can tell the portrait of your parents and they can contact me," Dumbledore added, conjuring up a pretty gold and red box on the mantle with a detailed carving of a lion rampant on the cover who lazily let out a roar and went back to sleep. "Mr. Weasley, would you prefer your own room or shall I turn this into a one bedroom apartment?" the Headmaster asked.

"I think I'll be able to see what's wrong just fine from next door. I'll let the two lovebirds rest," Ron said, smiling at his best friends. There were some situations you went through where you couldn't help becoming friends for life. Knocking out a twelve foot mountain troll at the age of 11 was one of them, Ron thought to himself.

"Night Ron," both Harry and Hermione said, nearly asleep already, still perched on Harry's bed. Professor Dumbledore and Ron shared a smile. Both of them doubting that the second bed would get much use, knowing that Harry and Hermione preferred to be as close together as possible at this moment at least.

"I will see you three in the morning, Mr. Weasley, oh and tell Harry I'll leave a miniature of the portrait of his parents in the main room to put in their room in case something happens again. His mum said something about wanting to watch over him.

"How about I just find a place for it right now. James and Lily will want to see this," Ron said, taking the small painting and hanging it over the mantle of the fireplace. "Perfect," Ron said as he returned to his own room.

"I couldn't have said it better myself Mr. Weasley," Professor Dumbledore said, watching his students for a few moments before retiring back to his office. This conversation with The Golden Trio weighed particularly heavy on his mind.