Dream Connections: Chapter 11

Are You Sirius? (I'm sorry for all the puns)

Everyone held their breath once again as Draco recited "Tfeh tefil rae deht wonod nu. Tfe levaht ondlu ohsk calbs uiris. Nees erof nueru tufah tae deht. Nee bevaht ondlu oh senod sawt ahw."

Nothing happened and Draco turned back to face the group. "I'm really sorry, Harry. I could've sworn..." Draco trailed off when he saw Ginny's face contort with shock.

"Look!" Ginny yelled and pointed behind Draco.

They turned collectively as watched as a body fell silently out from the veil.

"Catch him, you idiots!" Pansy screeched. Without waiting for anyone to do something, she pointed her wand and levitated him gently to the ground. "Honestly, you get him back and you're going to let him crack his skull on the bloody floor!"

Nobody was listening. As soon as Sirius appeared, the group had begun to gather around his body. It wasn't moving.

Sirius' face was fixed in the same look of shock that it had been when he fell through the veil. His eyes were wide open and staring straight at them.

"What's wrong with him? Is he still dead? Did this just get his body?" Ron was the first to speak after they realized Sirius wasn't moving.

"Well, we could always check his pulse." Hermione reached for Sirius' wrist and waited a moment. "He's alive! He just isn't conscious."

"He looks stunned," Draco muttered, raising his wand. "Ennervate."

Sirius blinked many times before sitting up and looking around. "Where's Bellatrix! Merlin, Harry, we've got to get you out of here! The fight has moved, hasn't it? Did any aurors arrive yet?"

"Sirius, hold on a minute!" Hermione tried to restrain the frantic man, just barely catching his attention. Once he had looked at her, she continued. "The fight is over. It has been for months now. Bellatrix is gone. Sirius, you've been dead for about six or so months."

Sirius gazed at Hermione, utterly bewildered. "What are you talking about?" He turned to Ginny. "She's gone mad, hasn't she? House-elves put her over the deep end, eh?"

"No, Sirius, I haven't gone mad!" Hermione looked absolutely offended. "You were dead! Just ask Harry!"

Sirius turned to Harry, just realizing that Harry hadn't said a word yet. His green eyes were wide and glistening. His jaw hung slack. He looked like a kid who was frozen in a moment of absolute joyful surprise.

"Okay…so, maybe I was dead." Sirius muttered. "No other way this one would be looking like that. And who are you?" Sirius turned to Draco and Pansy suddenly.

Draco stretched his hand forward. "I'm Draco Malfoy and this is Pansy Parkinson." He shook Sirius's hand and gestured to Pansy. "Before you flip again, I think an explanation of sorts is in order."

Sirius agreed and Draco looked to Hermione who knew more on the subject than he, but Ron started first. "Lestrange hit you with a stunner and you fell through the veil. Harry's been mourning you ever since. Everyone kept saying you were dead. Then, this Halloween, Malfoy offered to help get you from the veil because he knew more about it than we did. He said you weren't dead... just in limbo."

"Thank you, Ron, but that still doesn't explain why Malfoy and Parkinson's children are helping you lot." He looked at Draco expectantly. He seemed to be the voice of the two.

"Well, I'm sort of..."

What he was going to say, nobody will know because Harry chose that moment to speak. "He's my friend now, Sirius. We ended the feud. He's been disowned and Pansy probably would be if her parents knew she was here. I owe him everything because he's brought you back."

Everyone glanced between Harry and Draco, seeing a dark look cross Draco's face before he stood suddenly. "Right," he said. "Let's get out of here."

Draco brushed the dust from his robes, taking special notice of the spots on his robes from where he was kneeling on the floor. His features were stony and he suddenly seemed distant. "We'd better hurry or the mark Granger left on the door will be gone."

Nobody argued. Everyone stood, collectively brushing themselves off and following Draco. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Pansy sent curious looks after Draco before glaring at Harry. Harry, of course, took no notice because he was suddenly deep in conversation with Sirius. Sirius looked confused but interested as Harry told him everything that had happened since his "death," apparently excluding his relationship with Draco.

Draco was seething by the time he got to his chambers. They had left Sirius in Hogsmeade with the keys to 12 Grimmauld Place, after Hermione had assured them that the Ministry had declared Sirius innocent. As soon as the group had left the forbidden forest and reached the castle, Draco had stormed off toward the dungeons without so much as a goodnight. Pansy had hesitated only a moment before hurrying after him. She called goodnight over her shoulder as she tried to catch up, waving quickly.

Now, Pansy sat on the couch in front of the fireplace in Draco's quarters. Draco paced angrily before her. "How could he!" Draco yelled suddenly, stopping and staring at Pansy expectantly. "How could he interrupt me like that in order to keep our relationship from that man? It's his godfather for Merlin's sake. You'd think it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

"Did you ever consider that maybe Harry wanted to catch up with Sirius before shocking him with the news that he's gay? That might've been a bit much for the man to digest, considering that he's just found out he's been dead for half a bloody year?" Pansy, always the voice of reason, tried to make sense of Harry's actions as best she could. She didn't sound all that convincing, even to herself, as she shared the opinion that Harry was wrong.

"Give him some time, Draco, and then talk to him about it. Perhaps he has a good reason. You'll never know for sure until you calm down and talk to him." Pansy rose and stood in front of Draco, reaching up with both hands and holding his hair back. "Try to relax and don't do anything rash, babe." She kissed his pale nose and pulled him into a long hug. "He really appreciates what you've done for him. You have given him one of the best gifts in the world. Honestly, you could hardly have done better by bringing his parents back. Now, get some sleep. There's no doubt, he'll want to spend time with Sirius for a while. Take my advice and be there too. Get close to Sirius. Once he's comfortable with you and Sirius, maybe he'll come around to telling him about your relationship."

Draco seemed to go almost limp, all anger seeping away suddenly. "You're right, Pan. You're always right." He kissed Pansy's forehead, gave her a brotherly squeeze and pushed her gently toward the door. "You get some rest too…and thanks. I owe you for helping. You're the best friend I could ever have." He smirked playfully. "Y'know, there's still time in this break for you to hang out with Shamrock." The brunette smiled as she rolled her eyes and left the room.

Dragging himself up the stairs, Draco sighed before throwing himself, fully clothed, into the bed.

Ron swore and ducked as Hermione swung at Harry. Her hand caught his face with a resounding slap. "I can't believe your nerve, Harry." She whirled on heel and stormed away.

Harry held his hand to his cheek where Hermione had just hit him. "What the bleeding hell was that for?" He turned to Ron, but finding him looking none too pleased either, backed away a few steps. "What is wrong with you two?"

"No," Ron spat, "what is wrong with you? I never thought I'd feel sorry for Malfoy, of all people, but I don't think anyone deserves to be written off like that. After what he just did for you, you made him seem like nothing. What, are you all of a sudden ashamed of him?"

Harry looked more confused than ever. "What are you talking about!"

"Don't play dumb, Harry." Ron sighed at Harry's look. "Okay, so maybe you're not playing. Maybe you are just that dumb. You didn't realize that you interrupted Draco when you figured he was going to tell Sirius about your relationship and said you two were friends? How did you think Draco would take that? Why do you think he just got up like he did and started ignoring you? He hasn't spoken to you since Sirius came back, mate... and you're oblivious to all of it. That's really self-centered."

Harry wasn't used to this side of Ron. He had been up close and personal with angry Ron, jealous Ron, happy Ron, and a bunch of other 'Rons', but never had he seen disapproving Ron. "I... I don't know what to say. I... do you think he's mad at me?" Harry spluttered, having just taken in everything that the redhead was saying.

"No, you know, I don't really think he's all that mad." Ron's sarcastic tone was clear. "You hurt him, Harry. That much is obvious. I never thought Slytherins or Malfoys had feelings, but I guess he does because you hurt them bad." He paused and watched his words impact Harry. "Now, I'm not really the type for these kinds of talks. That's normally 'Mione's area of expertise, but she's a little too upset for it right now."

"Well," Harry started cautiously, "what should I do about this?"

"First, you need to determine why you did it. I'm sure you already know, but just pin-point it. Then, fix it. Simple as that." Ron shrugged and headed toward Gryffindor tower. "Just don't wait long, or else it might be too late."

Harry sat on the nearby steps and laid his head in his hands. He knew he needed to get back to the tower before Filch or Mrs. Norris found him, but he needed to think just now. He wasn't quite sure why he didn't want Sirius to find out about him and Draco. He didn't necessarily think that Sirius would be too disapproving, but he might be disappointed in him though.

Harry wasn't sure, but he didn't think he could tell Sirius right away. He just hoped that when he did tell him, there would still be something to tell.

"Hello, Harry." Blaise leaned back against a sofa in Gryffindor common room casually as though he were there all the time. "It's good to see you."

It had been a month since they'd gone to get Sirius, and though Draco and Sirius were getting along fabulously, Harry still hadn't spilled the beans. Draco seemed to have calmed down a lot much to Harry's relief, but he could tell it was still bothering the blond.

During that time, Harry realized he hadn't seen much of Ginny. He hadn't thought much about it though, because he spent all his time with Draco, Sirius, Ron, and Hermione. It appeared now that she had been spending all her time with Blaise Zabini because there he was sitting in the common room.

"Zabini," Harry greeted Blaise with a nod. "Where's Ginny?"

"Oh, she's around, I'm sure." Blaise waved his hand around as though to gesture that he hadn't the slightest idea or care as to where she was. "You know, Harry, she and I are just friends. We have never been more than that."

"Neither have we if you remember correctly... and we won't be." Harry glared at him, frowning in distrust. "Why don't you just leave me alone, Zabini? I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Aww, come on, Harry. Don't be like that." Blaise stood and walked closer to Harry who was frozen in place at the bottom of the stairs to the boys' dormitories. "If you should be upset with anyone, it should be Draco. I mean, he is the one who set me up. Not everything is how it appears." Blaise had seen his chance and had taken it. He knew all about the potion that Draco had slipped him now, because Draco has a nasty little habit of talking in his sleep. Blaise had long since taken up the other nasty little habit of listening to him.

Harry's frown deepened. He didn't like the way this conversation was going. So, he decided not to finish it and simply walked away. He was almost through the portrait hole when Blaise said something that made him pause. "Why don't you ask yourself, or better yet, Draco, what really went on that night of the party? It was really so convenient for him, don't you think?"

Harry shook his head and pushed through the portrait hole into the corridor. A little thought niggled in the back of his mind, however... what is Blaise talking about?

Having accomplished his task of at least planting the seed of mistrust in Harry's mind, Blaise was quite happy with biding his time. If he knew anything about Harry, it was that he was insanely curious. He knew Harry wouldn't be able to go on living without investigating what he had said.

Ginny had served her purpose well enough, but frankly, Blaise was getting sick of her. He decided that he was going to take some time off from her incessant flirting. It was making him ill and he needed some male company pronto. So, he set off in search of Old Faithful, better known as Terry Boot from Ravenclaw.

Every proper gay Hogwarts male knew about Terry Boot. He was good for a romp and a roll in the hay anytime, no matter with whom. Now, Terry was not necessarily flat-out gay so much as sexually selfish and shamelessly promiscuous. That may not seem very Ravenclaw of him, but that was Terry in a nutshell. There were rumors floating around that he'd even had some fun with a certain potions master. Of course, nobody could or even wanted to prove that one, though.

All other things aside, however, Terry Boot was the perfect lay. He was a no-strings-attached kind of guy, and males and females alike appreciated him for it.

"Oh, come on, Sirius. Tell us another one, please." Harry gave Sirius a lopsided grin across the table at the Three Broomsticks. "I want to hear another Marauder story, especially if it involves Snape being tortured."

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "As amusing as it is to hear about Severus being awkward and adolescent, he isn't actually that bad and doesn't deserve this. He'd die if he knew we were hearing all of this." Draco turned his gaze back upon Sirius and smiled. "I do really enjoy your stories though."

Sirius laughed and clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder. "All right there, little cousin, don't go all sappy on us. I rather enjoy your snappy retorts and faux bad attitude, especially when you and Harry go at it. You two bicker like James and Lily used to... just like an old married couple."

Harry and Draco's cheeks were flushed as Harry ducked his head and Draco coughed. Sirius looked between the two of them and shrugged. Ron and Hermione looked at each other and smiled, though, changing the subject effectively to Ginny.

"I wonder what she's been up to." Ron mused, furrowing his brow. "She used to hang around us a lot more than this.

"Oh," Harry scowled. "She's been hanging out with Zabini... fat lot of good she learned from Halloween."

Draco narrowed his eyes. He knew that Blaise was up to something and he needed to put an end to it as soon as possible. The boy simply could not be trusted, especially around Harry and Ginny. So, Draco decided to set Pansy up as a tail if he could convince her to detach her lips from Mr. Magical Marshmallows.

"Hey," Draco said suddenly. "Why don't we all go take a look at the 3Ws down the lane? I hear they have some good stuff on the market now." He started to get up and motioned for everyone to join him. He completely missed, however, the suspicious glare that Harry sent in his direction.

Harry made a mental note to corner Draco later. He knew that Draco wasn't fond of Blaise, but lately every time his name had come up, Draco had changed the subject completely. Of course, Harry didn't like that one bit. It made Draco look mighty shifty and Harry would hate for Blaise to be right.

As they left Hogsmeade, waving good-bye to Sirius, the group split. Ron and Hermione headed off toward the castle, while Harry led Draco toward the lake. At Draco's questioning look, Harry told him he simply wanted to take a walk and talk for a little while, just the two of them. Thinking nothing of it, Draco allowed himself to be led on.

After a few moments passed silently, Harry cut the pretense and got to the point. "What happened on Halloween?"

Harry's bluntness shocked Draco momentarily, but he eventually was able to stutter out "What do you mean?"

"Well," Harry began. "I ran into Blaise on my way out of the common room one time and he made the suggestion that you had something to do with our parting of ways. He suggested that I think about what you got out of it and whatever. So, I'm asking what happened." He ran a hand through his wild black hair nervously, eyeing Draco, who had gone quite pale and was now rapidly turning pink.

"Why that little sneak... Harry, you can't trust anything Blaise is throwing your way. He is deceitful and appears to have formed a vendetta against me. I get the feeling that he was just using Ginny to get to you and is now trying to use this to break us up, therefore using you to get to me." Draco sighed and reached to brush a hair out of Harry's green eyes. "What happened that night shouldn't have happened the way it did, and wouldn't have if Blaise weren't dead set on being abominable."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "What happened?" He moved closer to Draco, appearing more menacing by the second... all his mistrust for Draco returning full blast. The thought kept running through his mind that Draco had been using him, that the whole thing was a joke, and that, in the end, Draco had been planning to publicly humiliate him.

"Harry, I think you should calm down." Draco backed away a few steps, holding his hands up in front of him defensively.

"Look, Draco, if you won't tell me, I know who will." Harry pointed accusingly at Draco's chest. "Are you going to spill it, or do I have to find Blaise?"

"Fine, Harry, but this is going to cause nothing but trouble. I don't know why it even matters anymore. Aren't you happy with me or are you questioning whether you'd be better off with Blaise? How do you think that would've turned out, huh?" Draco spat Blaise's name vehemently as he spoke. He was becoming more and more enraged with Zabini's interference and he swore revenge.

"Don't try to switch this around on me, Draco. This is about what happened on Halloween. Now tell me what happened!" Harry had had enough of Draco's run around and was already highly upset. The thought occurred to him that he shouldn't hear what Draco had to say when he was so emotional, but he pushed that thought aside.

"I warned you, Harry. I admit it. I set up the snogging session between Ginny and Blaise. I'm sorry it had to happen that way, but I'm not sorry that I did it. If I hadn't, you and I might not be together now. Ginny really liked Blaise, so it wasn't that far-fetched. I just gave them a nudge in that direction." Draco crossed his arms defiantly.

"What kind of a nudge, Draco?" Harry's voice was as icy as his glare while he awaited an answer.

"I gave them a potion, Harry. Are you happy now? Tell me. Are you satisfied?" Draco sneered at Harry. It was something Harry hadn't seen in a while and that little bit of the old Draco was apparently too much for him.

"No, I'm not satisfied. I'm through. We're through! I knew I couldn't trust you. I just knew that the good old Draco who lived to make my life a living hell was still somewhere underneath that sweet crust. I should have seen right through this charade. I can't believe it's gone on for this long! I never want to speak to you again, Malfoy!" Harry spun on heel and stormed toward the castle. He hadn't turned quickly enough to hide his tears, though, and Draco had spotted them instantly.

Kicking himself, Draco ran after him, calling his name. Harry was too fast for him and was long gone by the time Draco reached the entrance hall. Taking heaving breaths, Draco held a stitch in his side and let out a piteous moan. He just knew Halloween was going to come back to bite him in the ass. His only hope was that they would've had a more stable relationship when it did. Now, things didn't look so bright anymore.

Draco figured he should probably find Harry before Blaise did and headed toward Gryffindor Tower. "Homo erectum" he panted to the Fat Lady.

"That's nice, dear, now take deep breaths." The Fat Lady smiled and swung open to reveal the common room through the portrait hole.

Everyone stared as Draco Malfoy stormed the Gryffindor common room. "Where is he?" Draco demanded. Everyone continued to stare and Draco started to get impatient. Grabbing a nearby first year by the collar, Draco yanked him out the chair and lifted him to eye level. "Where is Harry Potter? Tell me right this instant or I will hex you to kingdom come." He narrowed his gray eyes and brandished his wand at the surrounding Gryffindors. "Don't get any ideas, any of you. I am in no mood to toy with you lot. Now," he turned to the first year, "where is Harry Potter?"

The first year burst into tears. "I don't know! Please don't hurt me, Mister Malfoy, I really don't know." He curled himself into the fetal position, still dangling from Draco's hand.

"Aargh, doesn't anyone know!" Draco tossed the first year back among his friends and started to head for a group of third years.

"Draco, what in blue blazes do you think you're doing!" Hermione screeched, coming out of her chambers. "Are you threatening these poor students? You're a prefect for heaven's sake!" She weaved her way through the trembling masses toward Draco. Gripping his shoulders, she gave him a little shake as though to wake him up.

Draco simply shook his blond head. "Where's Harry?"

"How am I supposed to know? He was with you." Hermione frowned at Draco's desperate look. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"He found out. I told him. I knew I shouldn't have, but I got so angry and I..." Draco broke off and looked away.

"You told him about Halloween, then?" Hermione guessed. "Oh, well that was just brilliant." She crossed her arms and huffed loudly. "I should've known this would happen. You amateurs just can't do a complete cover up. Look, Harry is probably in the Room of Requirement. There is no point trying to get to him. I would suggest you wait here for him to come back, but I don't think that's the best idea seeing as you've made half the students nearly wet themselves with fright. Calm down some. Take a walk around the castle. If Harry comes here, I'll try to do some damage control and then I'll send word to you."

Draco gave Hermione a half smile and a quick squeeze. "Thanks, you're a doll. I'll wander, I suppose, or try to find Blaise. That way, I might be able to keep him from doing even more damage than he's already done." He turned and left, barely hearing the collective sigh from the common room as the Fat Lady's portrait swung shut behind him, leaving him face to face with Harry... and Blaise.

Author's Note: Alright, this was a lot quicker than that last gap, so hopefully you all are satisfied. I'm sorry for the cliffie, but I'm just cruel like that sometimes. I hope you can find it in your hearts to suck it up and take that shit... I mean, forgive me, friends. Anyway, a big thanks to my beta reader, best-friend, roommate, and confidante... Azu Luna,formerly known as N.C. PsyChick, cuz she's always there for me, fanfic-wise or otherwise. In a week, it will mark one whole year for me and my honey, so, I'm happy about that and would like to declare my love for him. I love you, baby. Right, so now you all can review and tell me what you think.

Review Responses:

Gryffindorgrl86, YoflamRettopReverof, and Lunchie: Thanks a lot, you guys. I'm really excited about being engaged. I can't wait to get married. Oh, and, of course, many thanks for reading my story as well, especially you, YoflamRettopReverof, cuz you've been with me for a while now.

checkmarks: I agree. Blaise is definitely a stinky poop head. I don't like him very much in this story, but in the story that Azu Luna and I are going to be writing really soon, he won't be. He'll be much cooler.

lovedbytheangels: I don't think Harry would've been able to take it either, which was why I allowed him his Sirius back.

Enzetto, Yana5, gcho, insanemarionette, Rchan2, and AlannaCrow: Thanks for reading my story. I'm glad you like it, and I should be updating on a much more regular/frequent basis. So, hopefully that pleases you guys. I know Sirius's return was bliss for y'all.

The Great and Powerful Oz: Thanks for reading. Yeah, Sirius's name is in there. The incantation actually says (and yes, I know it's really corny) "What was done should not have been... the death a future unforeseen... Sirius Black should not have left... undo now the dear life theft." So, I know I could've done better or been more original, but hey... people seem to like it.

Azu Luna: Wow, what's with people changing their names and crap. Sheesh! I should change my name to SuperNameChanginWritrGrl85! What do you think? Does it get my point across? Was it... was it too blatantly sarcastic? Should I maybe... maybe... tone it down some? What say you? Anyway, I'm so happy to be back sharing quarters with such an astounding person as yourself.