Disclaimer. Still not mine.

A/N. This chapter has been checked over by my new beta Lelouche-21. Thank you again for the help.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think.

In Darker Times – Chapter 6

Harry was standing in the middle of a circular room surrounded with stone stairs. At the centre of the room, where Harry stood, was an arch with a veil draped in the middle. It was then that Harry recognised where he was. The Ministry of Magic.

He was alone. There was not a sound except for his own breathing. He was breathing fast, as if he had been running before. Harry turned around towards the veil. He heard voices whispering to him. He stepped closer trying to hear them. He couldn't make out any words. As he walked closer, the voices were starting to sound familiar.

Harry stopped only a few steps before the veil. He knew that voice, but it sounded angry. It had never been angry at Harry before.

'Come in here Harry. Step through the veil.'

Harry felt himself stepping closer, not able to stop his feet from moving.

'That's right! It's your fault Harry. You killed us all, so you don't deserve to stand there! Walk through and join us!'

Harry struggled to stop his body. He couldn't step through the veil! He would die! But his body never stopped, and the veil was coming awfully close.

The moment he touched the veil, he felt himself being sucked in. This was it. He couldn't stop it. Harry was going to die. After he was sucked in, he saw the faces of everyone that had died because of him. His godfather had been the one talking; he was looking at Harry with fury in his eyes. His parents were there. But they weren't wearing the loving faces Harry had seen in the pictures he had of them. They were disappointed.

Harry couldn't bear to look at them. It hurt him more than anything. He felt tears spill from his eyes, al he had ever wanted was for his parents to be proud of him. But he had disappointed them.

Cedric was there as well. The boy didn't even look at him. He was staring off at something behind him. Harry turned around to see what Cedric was staring at, but there was nothing. Just emptiness.

'Cedric! I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to die! I didn't mean for anyone to die! Mom, Dad, please forgive me! I miss you so much, Sirius!'

Harry was screaming at them to forgive him. They were right, it was his fault. If he wasn't alive they never would have died. They died protecting him, because he was too weak to defend himself.

The bodies of his parents, Sirius, and Cedric began walking away from him. Harry tried to run after them but his body wouldn't move.

'Stop! Come back! Please! PLEASE, I'M SO SORRY!'

'Harry. HARRY! Wake up!'

Someone was shaking him, yelling at him. Harry shot up in his bed. He realised he was in the Slytherin dorm, again. It was all a dream. He suddenly felt nauseous. Dashing towards the bathroom, he threw everything up that was in his stomach. After he emptied everything he had ate the night before, he noticed his dorm mates standing in the doorway. They looked worried.

Humphrey took a step forward, as if he was afraid Harry would collapse.

'Are you alright, Harry ? That must have been a horrible dream, you were screaming bloody murder!'

Humphrey had gotten him a glass of water, which Harry accepted gratefully. He stood up from the cold bathroom floor, stepping back into the bedroom and sitting down heavily on his bed. His dream felt so real; the disappointed stares his parents had given him was still vivid in his mind. He felt tears coming up again, but he pushed them away. He wasn't going to cry in front of anyone, let alone Tom Riddle and his friends.

Humphrey sat down next to Harry, keeping a little distance between them. Vincent and Edmond sat down on their own beds. Tom was leaning against the wall with a thoughtful look. Harry felt unnerved by it, but decided to ignore it.

'What was your dream about Harry? It helps to talk about it.'

'No, Humphrey, I don't want to talk about it.' Harry felt tired. He just wanted to lie down and to be left alone.

'Who are Cedric and Sirius ? You were screaming at them that you where sorry. And to your parents, as well.'

'He said he doesn't want to talk about it Humphrey, so stop bothering him.' Harry felt grateful towards Tom. But he saw the look in his eyes; Tom was going to ask about this another time. And Harry didn't know if he was ready to tell him yet.

After a moment of silence, waiting to see if Harry was really okay, the boys went back to their beds. Harry waited for them to settle down before pulling the curtains around his bed, putting a silencing charm on them. He felt stupid for not thinking about that before; it would spare him the questions later. He felt his eyelids drooping closed. He was so tired after the nightmare, as if he had been running around the school for hours. He fell asleep, hoping he wouldn't be having another nightmare tonight.

The next morning, Harry still felt tired. The other boys were already getting dressed or leaving the dorm room. Harry noticed Humphrey sitting on his bed, waiting for Harry to get up.

'How do you feel, Harry ?'

'Like I ran marathon last night.' He yawned.

'You should hurry, though. Breakfast will be served in ten minutes. We've got double potions right after that.'

'Sure, I'll get up. Just give me a minute, okay ?'

'Alright, I'll wait for you downstairs.' Humphrey gave him one more worried look and left to go downstairs.

Harry decided he wouldn't forget his silencing spell ever again. He would have to answer too many questions to his dorm mates if they heard more. This was a relatively safe dream; he had only dreamt about his parents, Sirius and Cedric. It would be more complicated if he would be dreaming about the prophecy or even Voldemort himself. Harry didn't know if Tom had already thought up the name Voldemort, but Harry definitely didn't want to take the risk. Tom was smart, he already doubted Harry, and it wouldn't help to feed the boy more reasons to doubt him.

At breakfast, everyone was awfully quiet. The boys kept shooting glances at him, Humphrey's and Paschal's were worried. Harry knew they wanted some answers, he just wondered who was going to ask first. He didn't know what he would tell them, but he couldn't keep this a secret. He had screamed them awake. If one of them had dreamed like that, Harry would want to know as well.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Edmond spoke up.

'Why were you having a nightmare about your parents, Harry ? And who where the other persons ?'

Harry sighed and looked up at Edmond, taking a few seconds to think about his answer.

'My parents died when I was a baby. They were murdered. Sirius was my godfather, and Cedric was sort of a friend, I guess.'

'I thought you lived with your parents?' It was Tom this time. He looked at Harry curiously.

'I didn't tell you, because I don't like talking about it, and I don't want people pitying me.'

'What about your godfather and friend? They died to ?'

'Yes.' He was not going to tell them how they died. They would want to know who did it.

The boys seemed to pick up on that, for they continued eating they're breakfast. Although they kept shooting him glances as if he was going to break down at any minute.

After a few more minutes of the boys watching him, Harry got tired of it and stood up. He started walking out of the great hall when he heard someone shouting at him to wait. Turning around, he saw Edmond catching up to him. Harry sighed. He really wanted to be alone right now.

'Harry, why the hurry mate ?' Edmond clapped him on the back, starting to lead Harry out of the great hall. Harry rolled his eyes, walking towards the entrance doors of the castle. He needed some fresh air before being locked up in classes all day.

'I need some air.' Edmond seemed satisfied with the answer, for he smiled knowingly at Harry.

'Yeah, I know what you mean. The guys can be pretty tiring sometimes. You shouldn't blame them though; they're only worried about you. We don't know all that much about your past, and it is pretty obvious you are keeping some major secrets from us.'

Harry sighed, 'I know, Edmond. There are some things I just can't tell you. Maybe sometime later, but not right now. A lot of things happened in a short time; I just need a break. I thought coming here would give me some time to cope, but everyone just keeps sticking their noses into my life.' Harry didn't mean to snap, but he was already so tired of everybody wanting to know everything about him.

'I understand, and I'm sure everyone else will understand as well if you explain. But think about it. If someone would show up in your life, keeping secrets. And last night was pretty scary, Harry; that nightmare was not nothing. We are just worried about you.' Edmond had stopped walking and stood to face Harry. He was waiting for an answer. Harry knew Edmond wasn't lying, but he knew not everyone was so truthful. He knew Vincent and Tom weren't really worried; they just wanted to find out about Harry.

But Edmund was right. If he thought about it, he would definitely be worried if someone new would be in their dorm having secrets and nightmares like this. He would try to find out about them as well.

'Alright, Edmond, I can tell you some things, but not everything. You have to understand that some things I have to keep to myself.' Edmond nodded. Harry noted that Edmund was really trying to be understanding. He had never guessed Edmond could be that way.

'You don't have to tell me anything, Harry, if you don't want to.'

'No, you're right. I have to tell, if I want you to understand.' Harry walked over to the castle steps, sitting down on the bottom step. Edmond sat down next to him. 'Well, you already know that my parents died when I was a baby. After that I lived with my relatives. My mother's family; they're muggles. They hate everything magic and everything that has to do with magic. They even hate muggle stories about magic. So, obviously, they've always hated me, too. They made me do chores, things a child couldn't do, like cooking. And if I failed, they punished me for it. I was locked in a cupboard most of the time, until I was eleven.'

Edmond listened wide eyed, but suddenly something seemed to click in his mind, 'But you said you where home schooled. Your relatives wouldn't have allowed it, right ?'

'No, you're right. They didn't. There was a boy in my neighbourhood, his family was pureblood, and they found out about me not being able to go to Hogwarts. The boy was supposed to be home schooled because his parents didn't want him to attend Hogwarts. So they told my relatives I could be schooled with their son. My relatives didn't object, they were glad to finally be rid of me every day. So that is where I learned magic.'

Harry was surprised at his own lies. It was so easy to tell them and Edmond believed them easily. Of course they weren't far from the truth. 'When I was thirteen, I found out I had a godfather. He was thought to be the murderer of my parents, and had escaped muggle prison. But when I found out the truth I got to know him better. He offered me a home away from my relatives. I finally got some hope to have a loving home to go to every night after my stay with Cedric during the days.' Harry felt his heart ache again. He missed Sirius so much. The guilt over his death was eating his heart up. Edmond seemed to notice his hurt, for he steered the story to another topic.

'What about Cedric, your friend.' Harry was silent for a few seconds after that, he didn't know how much he could tell about him.

'He got in an accident when we were fourteen. Cedric and I liked to get ourselves in trouble; we liked adventures. One of those adventures got him killed. We were playing quidditch, and tried to pull some stunts. Cedric wasn't a very good flyer, so he was afraid to try some moves. I talked him into one, even though I knew Cedric was afraid. He fell of his broom and broke his neck. We were alone and I was to late to cast a cushioning charm. He died instantly. I still feel guilty about it. If only I hadn't talked him into it he would still be alive.'

'It doesn't sound like it was your fault, just an accident. Boys do that kind of things. We fell off our brooms countless times as well during quidditch practice, he just fell wrong.' If only Edmond knew the real reason for Cedric's death, he wouldn't talk so easily about this.

'Yeah, well, it still feels like it was, even though I know somewhere deep down it wasn't my fault.'

'I understand. Were you still able to study at Cedric's house after that ?'

'Yes, his parents didn't blame me, and they knew I would have to quit my schooling if I wasn't allowed, so I kept coming to their house every day. But it was difficult with his parents grieving; it kept reminding me about my part in the accident. So I focused on my lessons, and I improved my magic in the last year. I couldn't bring myself to enjoy anything without Cedric to share it with. A few months ago, my godfather came by to check how I was doing. It was dangerous, and I always told him not to walk out in public, because the muggle police was still looking for him. But he was worried because he had heard I wasn't doing well. The police found him and the moment he reached for his wand to apparate away, they shot him. They used a muggle gun and shot him right through his chest several times. They thought he was going to get a weapon out of his pocket to attack them. I watched him die there on the streets. I couldn't do anything to help him. It all happened so fast. Again someone died and I wasn't able to do a thing. It just feels like everybody that I care for dies.' Again, a story that is not that far from the truth. And because he used the muggle police, no one would find out it was a lie.

'Wow, Harry, I don't really know what to say.' Edmond had a horrified look on his face. He was staring off in the distance, lost in his thoughts.

'Yeah, well, now you know the truth about me. I hope you understand why I don't like to talk about my past. After Sirius died, I decided to come here. I wanted to start over. Cedric's house held to many bad memories.'

'Yeah, I understand Harry. I'm sorry for doubting you. I wouldn't be able to talk about that either, if that had happened to me.' Edmond gave him an apologetic smile. 'I'll keep the other boys off your back, alright. You don't have to tell them if you don't want to.'

'Thanks, Edmund. I'll tell them eventually. They'll keep doubting me if they don't know. And I will never be able to start over if everyone doubts me. I'm glad you listened. It helped a lot. Actually, I'm kind of surprised you're such a good listener. I thought you where the carefree kid, running after the girls all the time.' Edmond laughed at that, and Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing as well.

'You're welcome, Harry. But we really have to hurry now. We already missed most of our first class.' Edmond was still trying to keep from laughing when saying that. 'Or do you want to skip another hour and go do something fun ?'

'No, if I don't prove myself in class, Headmaster Dippet will put me back to fifth year, so I really have to attend class.' Edmond looked at him with a shocked face.

'So you can never skip and have some fun ? But I haven't even showed you the fun things about Hogwarts yet.'

'I know, but after the first weeks I won't have to keep studying as hard. The headmaster would only wait for the teachers to give their okay on my skills, after that I won't be watched as closely.'

'Fine, I'll just go skip class without you then, but not next class. We're having potions with Slughorn. He's a fun teacher. And he has this club, the other guys are going to get in, so I definitely want to get in as well.' Seeing the questioning look on Harry's face he explained further, 'It's called the Slug Club, and only some students get in. Everyone knows students in that club get favoured in class and outside of class as well. And Slughorn only invites you if you're "interesting" to him. Tom is already in, but that doesn't surprise me. Tom is always a favourite to many teachers.' Edmond rolled his eyes at the last. 'But I want to get in that class as well, and you should get in as well. It could help you out a lot if you get in trouble.'

'And I have a feeling I will, most likely, get in a lot of trouble hanging out with you.' Harry laughed. Edmond gave him a big grin but didn't answer him. They just kept walking down to the dungeons for their next potions class.

Harry was happy about the change; he liked how his lies had turned out. He realized he had a good ally and friend in Edmond. And he needed an ally. Humphrey was a nice friend, but Harry knew he would be a little bit too nice if he got in any trouble. And he still had to ask Tom for help, and if Tom's help turned out wrong, he would definitely need someone to get him out of trouble.

Thank you for reading again.

M