"James."

Poke.

"James."

Poke.

"James."

Poke.

"Ja-"

"Will you stop that!" I exclaimed, shooting upwards, before falling back with a groan of pain to glare at Regulus, who was grinning at me.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Morning," I said, looking around the room. I could not see Sirius anywhere. "Where's Sirius?"

"They separated you," Regulus said. "I don't know where Sirius's room is. I snuck in, and I already knew your room."

"And you thought it smart to poke me awake?" I asked irritably. Regulus shrugged. "Urgh, my chest hurts like heck..."

"Apparently there was a delayed curse on you," Regulus said anxiously. "Aunt Carol told me; you had a bunch of bad burns and a really bad cut, and Sirius had some internal damage, and neither of you are out of the woods yet."

"I'd bet my broomstick she made it sound a lot better than it really is," I said darkly. "Sirius couldn't breath when we got here, remember? And the last thing I remember is a sharp pain on my chest and a scared look on Mum's face."

Regulus frowned. "Oh. Well, you're all right now, right?"

I shrugged. "My chest still hurts."

"Do you reckon Sirius is okay?" Regulus asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I sure hope so."

Just then, the door open, and Regulus threw my invisibility cloak over his head, just as Mum walked in. "James! You're awake!"

"Yep," I said. "How's Sirius?"

"He's not awake yet," Mum said, but that made sense. The only reason I was awake was because of Regulus. "We didn't expect you to be either. You had some really bad burns... I'm afraid they'll scar."

"Oh," was all I said.

"You'll both be fine," Mum smiled. "I'm worried there might be more delayed curses on both of you."

"Sirius had a delayed curse on him?" I asked in horror.

"No," Mum replied reassuringly. "He hasn't yet, but I want to be sure. After that one nasty curse..."

Mum trailed off, leaving the rest to my imagination.

"Why was he having trouble breathing?" I asked worriedly.

"He had some internal damage," Mum replied cautiously. "We've fixed that, though."

"Why did you separate us?" I asked.

Mum pursed her lips and did not respond for a moment. "We didn't want either of you to wake up while we were treating the other."

Cryptic, but I could understand that whatever they had to do to treat Sirius and I wasn't something I wanted to see. "Can he come back?"

"Well," Mum said slowly. "I suppose he could, but I must warn you, you both look pretty bad."

"Sirius too?" I frowned. "He looked rather alright when we brought him in. Is he hurt?"

"Not particularly, but he's a bit paler than you're used to," she said. I was about to retort that I could handle that perfectly well, but she continued, "and, we're not sure why, but he sometimes... er... screams in his sleep."

I paled. "Do you reckon he's having nightmares? I mean, I used to scream in my sleep all the time after Sirius..."

My voice died in my throat, but Mum seemed to understand.

"Perhaps, though, about what, I'm not sure," she replied. "Perhaps having someone familiar with him at all times will help."

She gave me a quick smile and left the room. Regulus threw off the cloak, his face worried and slightly confused. "I wonder what's wrong with Sirius..."

"Sounds like nightmares to me," I said. "Wish I knew what they were about- perhaps he is scared that Voldemort wants to kill him. My nightmares have finally gone away- but knowing my luck, something will happen that'll bring them back full force."

Regulus looked awkward for a moment. "So... I looked up that Heart thing."

"And?" I asked eagerly.

"And I found something!" Regulus said triumphantly, pulling an old book out of his backpack and handing it to me. He flipped to a page. "Look, read here!"

The forest near Hogwarts (known as the Forbidden Forest) is said to hold an ancient lake, known as the Heart of the Forest. Legend states that the lake can heal any wound, cure any sickness, and prevent death. No one has ever found the Heart, and it is said that those who do never return.

The rest of the legend states-

The page was torn, and whatever the legend stated was gone along with half the page. I frowned and closed the book. "Good job, Reg. This gives us some information... too bad the page is torn."

"Someone must have torn it out," Regulus said. "I'd bet that it was a Death Eater."

"Probably," I agreed. Just then the door started to open again, and Regulus hid once more. I glanced at the book, before shoving it under my pillow, trying to look innocent and nonchalant.

Mum walked in, carrying Sirius in her arms. She set him down on the bed, and he looked like he was just sleeping. Mum gave me a quick smile, before leaving the room. Regulus took off the cloak and walked over to Sirius.

"Sirius."

Regulus poked him.

"Sirius."

Poke.

"Sirius."

I snickered as Regulus poked his brother again. Finally, after several more pokes, Sirius shot up, whacking Regulus in the face.

"Ow!" Regulus exclaimed.

Sirius looked around. "Sorry, Reg. What happened? Where are we?"

"We're in St. Mungo's," I replied. Sirius groaned.

"That's great," he muttered. "You guys, I just had the weirdest dream."

"A nightmare?" I guessed.

"Kind of," Sirius frowned, leaning backwards. "I was in the Forbidden Forest and there was this lake- really weird looking, actually. It was kind of sparkly and it sort of glowed- and it was the bluest colour I've ever seen. And there were all sorts of animals I'd never seen before!"

Regulus and I exchanged bewildered looks.

"And then," continued Sirius. "One of the animals turned to me, and, you won't believe it, but it spoke. It said, 'Welcome to the Heart of the Forest; come find us.' And then... I woke up."

"Sirius," I said slowly. "I don't think that was just a dream."

It was a few days since we'd been sent to St. Mungo's, and we were both back in school. Sirius's dream kind of unnerved me. He'd never heard of the Heart of the Forest, other than the tiny hint the Death Eaters had dropped. So, the first day back to Dad's class, we stayed after class.

"What's the matter?" Dad asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, for starters, we know what Voldemort wants," I said. Dad perked up, looking very interested. "Something called the Heart of the Forest."

"That's a legend!" Dad exclaimed.

"Well, that's what he wants," I frowned. "More importantly, Sirius has seen it."

Dad turned to gape at Sirius.

"In a dream," Sirius clarified. "It was really weird, but seeing as I was told specifically in the dream that it was the Heart of the Forest, I know that's where I was."

"You saw the Heart of the Forest in a dream?" Dad repeated dubiously.

"Yep," Sirius replied. "James said he didn't think it was a dream, though."

"Well, it could have been a vision of sorts," said Dad. "Has anything like this happened before?"

"Well," Sirius answered slowly. "I had a few weird dreams before it, but mostly they were foggy and it was always really dark. And sometimes there would be weird flashes of lights and stuff and screaming."

Dad frowned deeply. "That's troubling- if you are having visions, those could be some really bad omens."

"But I'm not, right?" asked Sirius, and, for once, he looked a bit nervous.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you," Dad said heavily. "But if you are, it's troubling. Do me a favour- start keeping a dream log, and see if anything comes true, or if anything connects."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Alright."

"It's not bad, is it?" I asked. "I mean, it won't hurt him, right?"

"I don't know much about these things," Dad replied. "I'd suggest you ask Professor Presagio, the Divination professor."

"Divination?" Sirius asked. "Remus says Divination is a bit woolly."

"It can be," agreed Dad. "But if anyone will know about visions and premonitions, it's Presagio."

"Gotcha," said Sirius, nodding. "Should we go see him, then?"

"Her," Dad corrected. Sirius blushed.

"Her," he repeated, smiling sheepishly.

"Later," I said. "I've got to prepare for my date with Lily."

Sirius laughed loudly and Dad grinned teasingly. I blushed. "What? She insisted."

"It's a beautiful day," Lily beamed. We were walking in Hogsmeade, hands entwined. I didn't have to worry about Sirius barging in and bothering us; I'd convinced him to stay back and talk to Presagio. Remus and Peter were keeping Regulus distracted, so Lily and I had the day all to ourselves.

"Where do you want to go first?" I asked. Lily looked around. "Not Madam Puddifoot's, I hope."

"No," Lily laughed. "That place is too frilly."

"Agreed," I chuckled.

We walked in amiable silence for a bit. Soon we found ourselves near a calm pond, and we both sat down by it. Lily giggled as a duck swam over to us and tilted its head.

"You seem stressed," Lily noted. "What's the matter? Things are going pretty well, I think."

"Voldemort is up to something again," I replied. "Add that to the fact he seems dead set on killing Sirius, and the fact that Sirius is getting weird vision dreams that we can't explain... well, I'm just worried."

"I understand," said Lily softly, leaning into me and resting her head on my shoulder. "Things will be okay, you'll see. You've done a pretty good job protecting Sirius so far. It's mostly his own fault that he keeps getting hurt- I kind of wonder how smart that boy actually is."

I laughed. "Oh, he's smart. He's just got absolutely no sense of self-preservation."

"Which undoubtedly drives you mad," Lily teased, poking me in the chest. "I'm sure he's got sense enough not to get himself killed; if not for himself, for you and Regulus."

"Here's hoping," I replied.

"Has Sirius had any more visions since the last one?" Lily asked.

"If he has, he hasn't told me," I answered, frowning pensively. "We're not even sure it was a vision. It could just be coincidence. Either way, I'm sure the Divination professor will figure it out."

"Urgh, she's batty!" Lily shuddered. "I took her the first time around in third year, but I dropped her- believe me, I dropped her as soon as I could this time."

"I couldn't believe you dropped a class last time," I snickered. "Remember: you said you thought you broke me!"

"I seriously thought I did," Lily nodded, eyes sparkling. "You were just standing there with your mouth hanging often- I think Sirius gave you a bruise on your arm from poking you."

"I think Regulus did a couple of days ago," I grumbled good-naturedly. Lily smiled bemusedly. "He poked me awake at the hospital."

"That boy," she chuckled. "He's such a sweetie."

"He's never hit you with his frying pan," I replied. Lily laughed lightly.

"I miss spending time with you like this," she said. "You're always with Sirius and Regulus."

"I suppose I'll have to set aside more time for you," I smiled. "And Remus and Peter and Snape. Maybe we can all sneak out-"

"Oh, no," said Lily. "You are not sneaking out, and you are not dragging Severus and I into your mischief."

"You'd have fun," I said in a sing-song voice. "Think of the pranks we could play if we had your genius and Severus's potion making skills!"

"Do not try to convince Severus to join your little group!"

"Why ever not?" I asked innocently. "We won't blow up the school."

"Well, there's that, at least," said Lily.

"On purpose," I added. Lily groaned.

"My boyfriend is crazy," she muttered. "I think I like you better when you didn't prank."

"Ah, but then I was all messed up and depressed and missing Sirius all the time," I pointed out cheekily. "You should like me better now because I smile more!"

"Hmm... I do like your smile," Lily replied, leaning up and giving me a kiss on the lips. "Much more attractive than your frown."

"You're beautiful even when you're angry," I replied, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. She turned red. "Ah, Lilyflower, we've been together for around four years now, and you still blush!"

This just made her turn even redder.

"You still stutter when someone brings up the idea of children," Lily retorted. My face heated up.

"Well, we're fourteen! Of course I stutter," I stammered back.

Lily laughed. "You see what I mean?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said.

We sat silently for a moment, Lily feeding the ducks little pieces of bread. I rested my head on Lily's, breathing in the fresh scent of apple shampoo in her hair.

"I love you, Lils," I murmured.

Lily smiled. "I love you too."

A/N: And on that fluffy note, this chapter comes to an end! I hope you thought it'd be fun. It's better than hurting him, at least!And now you know about the Heart of the Forest; hope it isn't too cliché or stupid. Big thanks to my awesome reviewers: Red Moon Lollipop, jeremiah123, sk8boards4ever, Lady Loophole, and guest! Don't know if you'd care, but a fake copy of that book Reg found is in order! Enjoy (you come up with the stuff in it!).

I still don't own Harry Potter.