Harry awoke the next day to find that he was alone on the couch in front of the fireplace. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and stretched both of his arms and legs. "I wonder where Daphne ran off to." he thought to himself as he stood up. He turned around to look out of the window to see the grounds below, and he noticed no one was outside. "Where the bloody hell is everybody?" he thought to himself. He turned around so he could head to the Boys Dormitory and get some clothes so he could take a shower, but he stopped quickly as he came face-to-face with the one person who wanted him dead the most: Voldemort. "Hello Potter. Surprised to see me?" Voldemort asked in his high and cold slithery voice. "What are you doing here Tom?" Harry asked with a hint of fear in his voice. "I'm here to kill you Harry. Just as I have to everyone you've ever met. Now you're all alone." Voldemort told Harry before he started laughing maniacally. Harry took a few steps back shaking his head in denial as Voldemort pointed his wand at the young wizard. There was a flash of green light and then everything went black.
Harry jumped up off of the couch with a start, which resulted in two things happening. The first thing that happened was Daphne fell to the ground, and the second thing that happened was Harry accidentally setting the tapestries in the Gryffindor Common Room on fire. "OUCH!" Daphne yelled in pain since she had landed on her head. Hermione ended up rushing downstairs after hearing Daphne yelling and was the first to notice the fires in their Common Room. After extinguishing the flames, she looked over at Harry and immediately noticed something was wrong. His shirt was drenched in sweat and he was breathing heavily as if he were about to hyperventilate. "Harry? What's wrong?" she asked him gently. He turned around to face her and she noticed that his face had a sickly green tint to it. After Daphne picked herself up off of the floor, she grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "Was it another one of your usual dreams?" she asked him out of concern.
He looked at his girlfriend and tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn't stop them from falling onto his cheeks. "Oh my god. He actually had a genuine nightmare. Whenever he had one of his usual dreams, he'd scream in his sleep and thrash about. Or at least, that's what Ron told me before we, uh….you know." Hermione said. Her cheeks started blushing when she said that. "What was the nightmare about Harry?" Daphne asked him. At the moment, he couldn't find or use his voice since he had a lump in his throat. That was the realest and most terrifying nightmare he had ever had in his life. Not even hearing his mother's voice screaming when the Dementors came near him could compare to this. "I-I-I was all alone. He killed them all. Just to get me alone. Everyone at the castle. Even Dumbledore and Sirius." he said quietly. "It was just a bad dream Harry. We're still here and we're still very much alive. You'll never be alone. You'll always have me, Hermione, Ron, the Weasleys, Dumbledore, Sirius and every other friend that you made over the years." Daphne told him gently.
He nodded at her slowly after awhile and got his breathing back under control. "That was the thing that terrifies me the most. It's not facing off against Voldemort, it's not Shade, it's not failing my classes, but it's being alone that I'm most terrified of." he told them. "You'll never be alone Harry. That's my promise to you of a lifetime." Daphne assured her boyfriend. "Shall we head down to breakfast before we go to Hogsmeade then?" Hermione asked them. "Of course. I could use some food after that." Harry answered automatically. "Did somebody say food?" Ron asked while coming down from the Boys' Dormitory. Hermione blew out her breath and shook her head. "Honestly." she muttered. "We were just about to head down to breakfast before heading out to Hogsmeade." Harry explained to his best friend. "Good. There were some items in Zonko's that I wanted to check out. Oh. Before I forget…" Ron said. Before he could finish sentence, he stopped and kissed Hermione on the cheek. "Morning 'Mione." he told his girlfriend. A faint blush crept onto her face along with a slightly silly smile. With that, the group of friends walked down to the Great Hall to get some much needed food into their stomachs.
When they arrived at the Great Hall, they were instantly approached by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. "It's too early in the morning to be dealing with you insufferable idiots." Harry told Draco and his cronies. "That isn't very nice Potty. Maybe someone should teach you how to respect your superiors." Draco told Harry, as his hand was creeping towards his pocket. "Or, Mr. Malfoy, you can stay out of trouble and be on your way." Professor McGonagall told the Slytherin student. Draco sneered at Professor McGonagall and left to the Entrance Hall with Crabbe and Goyle. "I see that you four are attracting trouble as usual." Professor McGonagall noted. "It's a curse, Professor." Daphne told her. "I can agree with that wholeheartedly." Harry told Professor McGonagall. "Be on your way then. Tomorrow you have class with me first thing in the morning. Don't be late." McGonagall told the group with a smile. The group said their goodbyes to the Head of Gryffindor House and went inside of the Great Hall to get some breakfast in their system.
They were surprised to see Sirius and Remus sitting at the Gryffindor Table, especially Remus. "What are you two doing right here?" Ron asked while piling food onto his plate. "Well Ron, I'd love to answer your question but I'm afraid that I must speak to Albus about Order business. See you later you four." Remus told them all. He got up from his seat and exited the Great Hall quickly. "What was that all about Sirius?" Harry asked his godfather. "Remus and I were just discussing possible ways to get Shade out of you Harry. Some of them are dangerous, so he doesn't want to tell you unless it'll be sure to work. I, on the other hand, think that after everything that you've been through so far, you're prepared to hear what the possible solutions are. Mind you, we are only looking at ways that are on the light side of magic." Sirius told Harry.
Harry nodded and took a seat across from his godfather. "What are they? Starting with the least dangerous way please." Harry asked Sirius. "The least dangerous one would be a muggle way I found out about in Tibet. A few monks I think they were called, said that to get rid of the darkness in your soul a.k.a Shade, you must purify your body and your soul entirely. That includes a bunch of meditation while sitting under a waterfall, and following what they called Buddhism." Sirius told Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow at Sirius mentioning using a religion to get rid of Shade. "What's the most dangerous way then?" Harry asked curiously. "Sure you can handle it pup?" Sirius asked with a smirk. "Come on Sirius. It can't be that bad. Can it?" Harry asked with uncertainty in his voice. "It is bad Harry. So bad in fact, that even if you chose to do it I wouldn't let you do it." Sirius told Harry.
"What is it then?" Daphne interrupted since it was her boyfriend/future husband that they were talking about. If it wasn't as bad as she thought, then she'd go with Sirius' plan instead of the one Merlin created. "We'd have to bring Harry to a state of near-death. That is when the soul is the weakest, and then we'd have to extract Shade's being out of Harry's soul with a very painful spell that was created by my ancestors. It has the effects of a Dementor's Kiss, but with proper control and concentration I can manage to just remove Shade from Harry permanently. However, as I said before he'd have to be in a state of near-death which means…" Sirius started to explain. "That his heart would be beating very, very slowly. If it remained like that for a prolonged time, then Harry will definitely die." Hermione finished. Being one of the smartest people on the planet meant that Hermione was good at picking up what people were about to say. "Exactly Hermione. Which is why I wouldn't let Harry do it even if he wanted to." Sirius told Hermione quickly.
Everyone's eyes went straight to Harry, who seemed to be wrapped up in his own thoughts. He was thinking about the pros and cons of Sirius' plan, but he didn't hear the full explanation. "So what do you think Harry?" Daphne asked her boyfriend. Harry didn't answer her since he didn't even hear her. Sirius shook Harry's shoulder and that brought his godson out of his thoughts. "What is it?" Harry asked them. "What do you think about my plan?" Sirius asked Harry carefully. "Let's do it." Harry answered quickly. "Really? Just like that?" Ron asked his best friend. "Yeah. It sounds simple, so why not?" he asked. "I'm guessing that he didn't hear the full explanation." Daphne and Hermione said at the same time. Harry opened his mouth and closed it again, as if to confirm that both his girlfriend and best friend were indeed correct. "What did I miss then?" Harry asked simply. Everyone (besides Harry) looked at each other, wondering if they should tell him why he should be worried.
Hermione grabbed a piece of parchment, some ink and a quill from out of her bag. In a matter of seconds, she had a short and precise explanation written up and handed it to Harry cautiously. Harry grabbed it out of her hands and quickly read over the short summary she wrote up. After about five minutes, he dropped the parchment on the floor in disbelief. He looked to Sirius, then to Hermione, then to Ron and finally to his girlfriend. He felt a large lump form in his throat after reading what he had read. Tears began to form in his eyes, as he felt his whole life flash before his life. That included his life from the last timeline as well. Harry felt as if the Fates wanted him to either die or to live and carry out his mission of killing Voldemort. "Is there any other to get rid of Shade? One that doesn't end with me possibly dying?" Harry asked his godfather. His voice cracked with emotion when he asked those two questions. He even felt thirsty due to the lump that formed in his throat.
"We'll keep looking for more ways Harry. You can believe that. For now, be safe and focus on your schoolwork. Remember: you're not alone. We all have your back." Sirius told him. Sirius walked over to his godson and placed a firm yet gentle hand on his shoulder. Harry nodded at his godfather and quickly tried to wipe away the tears forming in his eyes, only to be stopped by Daphne. Instead, she wiped the tears forming in his eyes. "Finish your breakfast Harry. We'll forget all about this during our trip to Hogsmeade? Alright?" she asked him. Harry nodded at his girlfriend and picked up a piece of toast on his plate. He couldn't bring himself to eat it though, so he placed it back onto his plate. "I've got to go prepare for my lessons tomorrow, so I'll see you four later. Have fun at Hogsmeade for me too." Sirius told the group of teenagers. Hermione, Ron and Daphne nodded at him as he walked out of the Great Hall.
The four teens (with the exception of Harry) continued to eat their breakfast, so that they would be full of energy when they went to Hogsmeade. "Which shop should we go to first?" Hermione asked the other three. "I actually have an idea for our Hogsmeade trip. Bear with me, it is only an idea." Ron told them, mainly Daphne and Hermione in particular. "What is it?" Daphne asked curiously. "How about you and 'Mione go have a girl's day out and Harry and I have a guy's day out while we're there?" Ron asked the two. Daphne mulled it over while Hermione's facial expression showed that she was alright with the idea. After a few moments, Daphne sighed and nodded her head. It could provide the distraction that she and Harry both really needed at the moment. "Where are we going then Hermione?" Daphne asked. "I was thinking about going to the quill shop, Flourish and Blotts and going to the Three Broomsticks afterwards." Hermione told Daphne. Daphne nodded and waited for her friends to finish their breakfast, since it seemed as if Harry wasn't even going to touch his. As a matter of fact, she thought that Harry didn't even hear anything that they said after Sirius left the Great Hall.
"Harry? Did you hear all of that?" Daphne asked her boyfriend. Harry simply nodded without saying anything. He was too wrapped up with thinking about what Sirius told him. Yeah he's been in multiple life-or-death situations, but this one was different. The others all came from either Voldemort or a Death Eater that served Voldemort. This one now though wasn't coming from either one. It was coming from himself. Or at least, someone he cared about that was trying to help him get rid of Shade. This was a new type of fear that Harry had been introduced to. If it succeeded, then Shade would be gone for good. If it failed, then Harry would be gone for good. The way things were looking for the young wizard, he was sure the scales were tipping in the direction of him dying from attempting it. "Whatever is the matter Harry? Scared to take a little risk to get rid of me?" Shade tauntingly asked Harry. "Not now Shade. I don't want to hear anything from you." Harry answered back mentally. Shade just chuckled inside of Harry's subconscious and continued chuckling for what seemed to be five minutes.
"What is so damn funny Shade?" Harry asked in minor annoyance. "What is funny is that your girlfriend had a certifiable way to get rid of me, but she isn't going to use it. Want to know why?" Shade asked Harry. "No I don't. You can keep it to yourself." Harry answered. "Since I'm such a good sport, I'll tell you anyway. It is because she doesn't want to lose you. You see, before Voldemort got exposed to me, I was exposed to a witch by the name of Morgan le Fay. You've heard of her right? Well that was in the medieval times. The only person to come up with a correct way of expelling my presence was Merlin. Centuries later, who else would find the book with the way to get rid of me then Merlin's descendant and the person I happened to possess: you. Anyway, I found out that you found his book and I threatened to kill you if that infernal ritual was used." Shade explained in great detail. Harry looked towards Daphne with shock in his eyes. Shock not only from what Shade had told him, but also the shock that Daphne would hide such an important thing from him. It damn near hurted him just thinking about it.
"Is it true?" he asked Daphne curtly. "Is what true?" Daphne asked in confusion. "You had a way to get Shade out of me this whole time and didn't tell me?" Harry asked her hotly. His irritation was escalating into full-blown anger mixed with a bit of sadness and disappointment. By Daphne's reaction, as well as Ron and Hermione's reaction, he knew that it was the truth and that they were all in on it. "So none of you thought to tell me? I had to find it out from Shade of all people?" Harry asked them. "I wanted to tell you Harry, I did, but Shade threatened to kill you if I told you." Daphne calmly yet sadly explained to Harry. "To hell with what Shade told you. Did you forget that he needs me alive? Did you forget what his goal was?" Harry asked them. In all actuality, they had all forgotten that Shade did need Harry alive so he could turn Harry into a greater Dark Lord than Voldemort ever was. His friends' and girlfriend's reactions once again told him all that he needed to know, so Harry got up from the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and stormed out of it. He needed something to help cool his head, and the only things he could think of that could do that were: Quidditch Practice and practicing spells on Death Eater dummies in the Room of Requirement.
Ron, Hermione and Daphne watched Harry storm out of the Great Hall with heavy hearts. They've should've known that this was going to happen eventually. Not because of them keeping that secret from Harry, but because of the fact of how manipulative Shade was and how far he thought ahead. That was the only advantage he had over them, since it seemed like they played right into his hands. "Guess we're not going to Hogsmeade then." Ron said after a few moments of silence. Hermione scoffed at her boyfriend and they all ended up just looking down at their plates in temporary defeat. Well, Daphne wasn't. She was thinking about how hurt Harry was. He trusted all of them and he had to find out like that. It hurt her that she had inadvertently hurt her boyfriend. The trio ended up staying in the Great Hall for another half an hour in silence, until Remus rushed in looking for them. "You three come with me quickly to the Headmaster's Office." Remus told them exasperatedly. "What's wrong Remus?" Hermione asked worriedly. "It's Harry. He's facing an immediate suspension from school." Remus told them sadly. This grabbed the attention of all three teens as they quickly followed Lupin out of the Great Hall and towards the Headmaster's Office.