After a few moments, Harry had gotten up, without even bothering to put on his shoes or grab his wand, and, gradually, quickened his pace, as he left the dormitories. He jolted out of the common room and sprinted through the halls. The people in the painting's had always seemed so cool to him, but tonight the thought of these unliving people that could talk to you, joke with you, get angry at you, made him feel qualified to be Lockhart's roommate. For the first time, Harry ignored them, told himself they weren't real, like a hallucinogen.

He just kept running and, eventually, slid in front of Isaac's office and repeatedly pounded on the door and felt like he needed to be let in to avoid something dangerous.

Isaac was confused at first, as to what the banging was, but when he realized he wasn't dreaming it, he got up, his hair a bit disheveled, in eloquent, black pajamas and socks, and opened the door for Harry, just as Natalie came out of her office, a kind of pale that Isaac knew too well. She was better off than Harry though, who was shaking and was a few shades paler than she was.

Natalie started to help Isaac lead Harry inside, but Isaac stopped her, gently, "No, get Professor Lupin. I'll leave the door unlocked."

Natalie nodded and noticed, before she turned to go, the way Harry began to cling to Isaac, like he was testing out whether or not he could hug him.

She ran down the middle of the room, between the desks, and had to grab onto the railing to keep from crashing into the stairs that lead up to Lupin's office. She raced up them and pounded on his door, which startled Lupin awake, and almost crashed into it, "Professor Lupin! Harry needs our help!"

Lupin got up, his hair a bit disheveled, like Isaac, in green socks, dark blue flannel, plaid pants and a short sleeved, baby blue shirt, that had a hole on the left side, under his ribs. He was a little dizzy and had to take a moment to get his footing. Then, he went and opened the door.

Natalie grabbed his hand right away and led him down the stairs, through his classroom, while she explained, louder and more desperate than she meant to be, "He came to my Uncle Isaac shaking, he's really pale, and he just looks really afraid of something!"

"Did he say what of?" Lupin inquired.

"I don't know." she admitted, as she pulled him along to Isaac's office and yanked the door opened.

Isaac and Harry were to the left of them on the floor. Harry was against the wall and Isaac was kneeling beside him and had been able to get Harry's tie off and unbutton the first two buttons on his shirt, without protest, despite how much Harry suddenly felt like he had to defend himself from something that longed to rip his clothes off. Harry clung to him, which made Isaac embrace Harry, run his hand through his hair, and kiss him on his temple, just as Natalie opened the door and joined her uncle and kissed the top of Harry's head.

Isaac looked up at Lupin, who he could tell, as he watched Harry, felt out of place, like he should turn around and just go back to his room, as if he was just some fan.

"Close the door." Isaac instructed Lupin, in a way that made him feel like he belonged. He explained, as Lupin got on the floor and found a place to hug Harry, "He had one of those dreams, like last year, except this time it wasn't about other people and it didn't even happen now. It was about when Harry was five years old…" Isaac swallowed a few times, like he was about to throw up. He felt a sickly chill pass over him and shook his head, eyes closed.

Lupin and Natalie touched his shoulders and Lupin was about to ask what was wrong, but then he realized what it was and went a few shades paler, a cold sweat just formed. Natalie cried out, "No, no, no! Uncle Isaac…" She turned to Harry and tried to direct his head, so he would look at her, "Harry, look at me, look at me. Harry, I was molested." Harry turned to her, horrified, suddenly so aware of how young she was, how angelic her face looked. She asked, "What happened to you?"

Harry confessed, as he put his arms around her, a slight stutter to every word, "A man tried to get me. I don't know what he wanted to do, exactly, but," he pointed his chin at Isaac, "your uncle saved me."

Natalie and Lupin turned, at a loss for words, to Isaac, who nodded, with a distraught I'm no hero. expression. He explained, his eyes swinging from his niece to Lupin, his hand in front of his chest, which shook a few times during his explanation, for emphasis, "We always kept track of Harry's birthday," Lupin nodded, to let him know he did the same, "and it just became too much. Remus, I know you were struggling, I wish I had known then, I did always wonder, but my family could have supported Harry, and I'm sure it killed you too, but it killed me that we had the means of raising him, but we still couldn't have him! You know Petunia had hated Lily being a witch and I didn't know for sure, but I knew it wasn't likely she would accept Harry, and I didn't know how bad it would be, but I had to go see if Harry was alright."

Isaac looked down and shook his head. Then, he continued and trembled more as he admitted another word, "I went to look for Harry on his fifth birthday. I found a book shop and asked the owner if she had seen any boys with lightning shaped scars and she had, but Harry came, as I was leaving, and he was running away from a man, Jeffrey Hammer, and I saw him try to take Harry. I knew what he wanted."

Isaac stopped and was so pale that Lupin took him by the shoulders and got him to lean over the wastebasket to throw up in. Lupin held onto him and felt fear sore through his arms, down to his feet. Sure Isaac still seemed like the eloquently brave hero, but he was also like a scared child.

Lupin didn't realize he was shaking too, until he let go of him, after a few quick, encouraging pats on his back and shoulders, and he turned to Natalie and Harry. He was about to speak, but inhaled sharply, like he had been stabbed in the stomach and the knife was dragged up to his chest.

Natalie's own molestation and whatever Harry had experienced slipped into his head, each imagining more violent than the next and they overlapped each other like monsters duking it out. However, he couldn't shed the idea of two raven haired children crying. Maybe, they were held down and they cried out for their parents, as an adult's hands squeezed certain places so hard they left bruises. Maybe, clothes were torn off and a special experience was stolen.

The sound of Isaac vomiting, although he began to stop, was magnified to Lupin and so was the youth of Harry and Natalie, who looked helpless, from a mix of worrying over him, Isaac, themselves, and each other.

Lupin hesitantly drew them both near, felt their arms wrap around him, and kissed their temples. Isaac stopped vomiting in time to hold onto the top edge of the basket and turn and see Natalie and Harry bury themselves into Lupin.

Harry and Natalie's youth, stolen youth slipped into him, like a slow drill that went so deep it reached his heart and then plowed into that. He realized he was shaking and concentrated on how much he needed to be the hero, while he prayed for the strength to be one.

Isaac held up his hand and caught his wand, which was tossed out of his room, and stuck it in his pocket. He tied up the garbage bag he had vomited in and then got up. He brushed himself off and took a deep breath.

Then, he looked down at the others and, gently, guided them up, "We should go see Professor Dumbledore, now."

Lupin nodded, while, although they agreed, Harry and Natalie gave Isaac distraught faces.

"After your first nightmare, last year, I took the liberty of using the paintings to keep an eye on you, since I couldn't actually risk doing it myself." Dumbledore, clad in the robe Harry had seen him in earlier, had to explain to Harry, when they found him.

Dumbledore had been waiting for them in the hall, with the torches lit with blue fire for the night, which emphasized the silver color of his hair, with a worried expression that left them all confused as to how Dumbledore could have known they were coming.

Isaac poured out their explanation with more poise than he had had in his office. He gravely explained to Dumbledore about Harry's revelation, the way a repressed memory had been recalled in a nightmare and how Harry recalled more beyond that. He ended with how Natalie had been the one molested by an old professor, which made Harry freeze midbreath, sharply, and exchange a deep look with Natalie.

Dumbledore breathed hard to hold back a sob, when he learned about Natalie, and cried into his hand, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Harry really never thought that Dumbledore had any more inner demons that what he had confessed to him and Hermione earlier, but the way Dumbledore cried was rooted in so much guilt that it made Harry recall his first year. How had he reacted when he found out about Quirrell? Lockhart?

Harry felt like he was outside of the situation, until Natalie went forward, hugged Dumbledore, and assured him that it was not his fault. Natalie's voice snapped Harry out of it, slowly, and then he joined Natalie and hugged Dumbledore and assured him of the same thing.

Dumbledore was a bit in shock at not being blamed, so it took him a moment to register they were hugging each other. He looked at Isaac and Lupin, who nodded in agreement with what Natalie and Harry had said. Dumbledore gave them a teary, grateful expression and then kissed Harry on his temple and Natalie on the top of her head.

Afterwards, he choked out/gasped, to Lupin and Isaac, "The pensieve."

They nodded and then everyone followed him up to his office.