Like every morning Harry was the first one awake in his dormitory. It didn’t matter that it was a Saturday morning because Harry still had to check in with Madam Pomfrey for his prescribed potion. The pain in his right side had all but vanished leaving Harry feeling much stronger than he had at the beginning of the week which seemed ages ago. It was hard for Harry to believe that only a week ago he had been home with Sirius, Remus and Tonks. If this week was any indication of how the term was going to be Harry knew it was going to be a long one.

Pulling himself out of bed, Harry quietly cleaned up and changed into a long-sleeve shirt and jeans before leaving the dorm room and Gryffindor Tower for the hospital wing. The silence of the hallways was deafening but Harry had grown accustomed to it by now. It was always quiet this early in the morning. Most people would probably but uncomfortable with the amount of silence but Harry found it comforting. He had found that if he closed his eyes he could almost feel a soothing presence that was only there when the halls were empty. He didn’t know where it came from and hadn’t told anyone about it. For some reason the presence just felt right.

“See, that proves he is not an empath!” James said happy.

“No it doesn’t,” Lily said concerned for James’ sanity.

“Of course it dose. Harry has those same feelings of a soothing presence and comfort and etc. but there is no one around. So there has to be another explanation meaning he is not an empathic!” James explained.

“James,” Remus started slowly, “That only means that there is something soothing around, it doesn’t exclude-“

“YES IT DOES!” James cried.

“Okay, James, whatever makes you happy,” Remus gave up.

Entering the hospital wing, Harry saw that Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him with a smile on her face. There had been a silent agreement between them ever since the start of the summer. Harry wouldn’t complain and Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t either. After this summer Harry felt it was best to just let Madam Pomfrey do her job and things went much smoother.

The checkup went quickly. Madam Pomfrey declared that the muscles on his injured right side had finally healed and his heart was doing much better. There was still some minor healing but, according to her, nothing that couldn’t be healed by the end of the month. This was a great relief for Harry. He couldn’t wait for everything to go back to normal and this entire heart condition be a simple memory. It had been held over his head for too long.

Al four of them sighed relieved.

After grabbing an early breakfast, Harry returned to the Gryffindor Tower, snuck into his dorm room and grabbed his mirror Sirius had given him, ink, quill, parchment, and some of his homework before settling in front of the fire in the Common Room. He wrote a quick letter to Tonks since he knew she would send him a howler if he didn’t then started working on the essay of self-fertilising shrubs for Professor Sprout to pass the time until he could use the mirror without waking Sirius up.

“Around four in the afternoon then,” Remus said with a straight face.

“It’s not my fault Moony, that unlike you, I actually appreciate the fine art of sleeping,” Sirius glared at Remus.

“I didn’t know sleeping had been proclaimed an art,” Lily chuckled.

“Padfoot is starting the campaign and has already printed the pamphlets,” James said smirking.

Sirius’ glare intensified.

Sirius loved sleeping as late as he possibly could making Harry feel guilty when ever he woke the Animagus up.

“You don’t need to feel guilty Prongslet. You are not like some people *cough* Moony and Prongs *cough* that like to wake me up at ungodly hours just for fun!” Sirius said firmly glaring at said offenders.

Slowly, students stared to rise, strolling down the stairs and out of the Gryffindor Tower only half awake. Hermione wasn’t surprised to see Harry up already and sat down to wait for Ron to come down. Bored after only a few minutes of waiting, Hermione grabbed Harry’s Astronomy book and started flipping through it, not really paying attention to what she read. Harry glanced at his watch and saw that it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet. Sirius wouldn’t be up for a few hours, unless Remus forced him out of bed which was nearly impossible for anyone to do.

“See, what did I tell you? Moony is evil! Evil! And Prongs is no better!” Sirius cried and Lily couldn’t help but laugh as the other two rolled their eyes.

When Ron finally came down the stairs he looked as tired as everyone else if not more so. It had surprised Harry that Ron had tried out for the team with as overloaded as he already was. For the past week Ron had put his assignments off to the last minute which aggravated Hermione to no end. Ron was also the first one to complain repeatedly about the overabundance of homework. Hermione usually handled the pressure better than anyone so there was no surprise when her assignments were better than anyone else’s.

Harry had experienced the overload last year with the Tournament and homework that the teacher’s had piled on. He had even gone as far as cutting back on sleep and meals, something that Sirius, Remus and Professor Dumbledore hadn’t been pleased to discover. To prevent anything like that from happening again, Sirius and Remus had instructed Harry to take one task at a time instead of thinking about the sum of tasks. Harry had to admit that line of thinking had probably saved him from feeling how Ron had this week which was an extremely good thing since Harry couldn’t afford to have his emotions get the better of him.

When Ron and Hermione leaving for breakfast, Harry found himself alone in the Common Room as he finished his Herbology essay and started working on McGonagall’s Inanimatus Conjurus Spell assignment. A Quidditch practice had been scheduled for this afternoon which Harry had to attend regardless of the fact that he was grounded. It was also Ron’s first practice with the team and Harry wasn’t about to miss that. No matter who you were, the first practice for any rookie was uncomfortable.

Harry was halfway through his Transfiguration homework when Ron and Hermione returned from breakfast and brought down their own homework to start on. After nearly an hour and a half of homework, Harry excused himself and went up to his dorm room with his mirror in hand. Once Harry made sure that the room was empty he called for his godfather and didn’t have to wait long before Sirius’ face appeared in the mirror.

“Good morning, Proglet!” Sirius said happily. “How was your first week?”

“For Sirius to be that chirpy it has to be closer to good afternoon than morning,” Remus said knowingly.

“Once again, I am not to fault if you don’t appreciate sleeping. I am sure Lily agrees with me,” Sirius said crossing his arms.

“Actually I usually get up early,” she said and jumped when Sirius cried:

“TRAITORS! ALL OF YOU! NO SENSE OF WHAT’S GOOD IN LIFE WHATSOEVER!”

“Long,” Harry said honestly. “You were right about Umbridge. She definitely—er—has her own way of thinking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a teacher scold Hermione so much. Everything the Ministry and the author of our text book say is right and everyone else is wrong. How could the Ministry do something like this with what happened on the train?”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Trust me when I say I understand your frustration,” he said bluntly. “According to our sources the Ministry has been bombarded with Howlers about Professor Umbridge. Students are complaining to their parents about her and their parents are complaining to the Ministry. Everyone is using what happened as grounds to demand better teachers for their children. There aren’t many who are happy with the fact that there was only one student capable of defending himself.”

“You’d think that a Minister that is so worried in keeping his post would cave to the pressure and sack Umbridge on the spot,” Remus said frowning.

“Why? He wants a spy there,” James asked.

“Because if Fudge looses popularity the people may demand that he step down,” Lily explained, “He must think that the parents of Hogwarts students aren’t enough people and the majority will still back him up.”

“That’s stupid,” Sirius snorted. “With the way families cross-married in the wizarding world there isn’t one witch or wizard that doesn’t have a relative at Hogwarts. Even if it is just a cousin of some sort.”

“But everyone else was trapped on the train,” Harry protested. He let out a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck. This was the last thing he wanted. Why couldn’t everyone just let what happened go? Why did they have to always use him as an example? “So what happens now?” he asked softly.

“I wish I could tell you,” Sirius said. “The Ministry—more so Fudge than anyone—is claiming that Umbridge is the best person who will follow the Ministry guidelines. A load of rubbish if you ask me. Fudge is just afraid of Dumbledore building an army that will stand against the Ministry. Fudge is too addicted to power right now to make any sort of rational decision.”

James looked up from the book and his lips were twisting. He looked like he was fighting some internal battle that apparently he lost as he burst in laughter. He wasn’t the only one, the other three were in similar state of disbelief.

“Come on! How idiotic can the man be? An army? Of children?” Sirius cried.

Remus stopped laughing and turned serious, “The worst part is that his idiocy is actually hindering the students.”

“Idiots in power are always dangerous,” Lily nodded grimly.

Harry would ask if someone was controlling Fudge but he knew first hand how incompetent Fudge really was. The Minister had been so desperate to cover a mistake the Ministry had made that he was willing to give an innocent man the Dementor’s kiss. Just thinking how close Harry had come to losing his godfather made him shudder. No one like Fudge should be the Minister of Magic.

“Is something bothering you, Pronglet?” Sirius asked, his concerned voice breaking into Harry’s thoughts. “You’re awful quite today. Has something else happened that Dumbledore’s neglected to tell us? Did you have an outburst? Is Snape being a git?

“When isn’t he?” James grumbled.

Did Umbridge say something to you?”

Rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses, Harry pushed his thoughts out of his head. He really didn’t want to worry Sirius with thoughts of what might have been. “I just have a lot on my mind,” Harry said with a shrug. “Remus was right. Fifth year is tough. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much homework in the first week before. I haven’t had any outbursts, Snape’s being Snape and Umbridge was a little miffed when I didn’t react to her taunting. She blames you and your problems with Fudge for my knowledge of ‘dangerous spells’.”

Sirius grinned at the comment. “Well at least she understands talent,” he said then looked over his shoulder.

Lily slapped her own forehead and moaned, “He’ll never change.”

“Nope,” Sirius said happily.

 “I’m talking to Harry, Moony! I’ll take care of it later!” Sirius returned his attention to Harry. “Sorry about that. Moony’s being Moony.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Remus said slowly narrowing his eyes.

“That probably you are demanding I do my homework or something just as horrible. You’re very mean Moony!”

James nodded.

“You’re an adult Sirius,” Lily rolled her eyes. “You don’t have homework anymore.”

“Don’t underestimate Moony’s powers Lily,” James said somberly. “I bet he sets up homework for Sirius just so he doesn’t forget what it’s like.”

Remus just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

So how are you feeling? You certainly look better than when we last saw you.”

“I’m fine, Sirius,” Harry insisted. “I should be back to normal by the end of the month. I’m grounded through next week but no restrictions other than that.” Thinking of Quidditch reminded Harry of last night’s events. “Oh! Ron’s the new Keeper! We had tryouts yesterday. Angelina’s captain now. I think she’s going to be just as bad as Oliver.”

Sirius looked over his shoulder again. “Hey Moony,” he said innocently. “Can I help you with something?”

“Whenever Sirius says something innocently you have to worry,” Lily snorted. Sirius beamed.

“Give me the mirror, Padfoot,” Remus’ voice ordered. “It’s my turn to talk to Harry.” Before Sirius could say anything the image in Harry’s mirror shifted from Sirius to Remus.

“Hey! Moony stole the mirror from me! Aren’t you going to do something? Didn’t you see that? He just went and grabbed it!” Sirius cried but the others ignored him.

“Good morning, cub,” Remus said as he eyed Harry for a moment then sighed. “You haven’t been staying up all night studying, have you or is it nightmares?”

“I’m fine, Moony,” Harry insisted. Why did his guardians always have to assume the worst? Probably because the worst is usually what happens. “I haven’t had any nightmares and I haven’t been staying up all night. It’s just been a long week. I’m still trying to get used to everything. If anything happens, I’ll let you know. I promise.”

Remus stared at Harry for a moment before nodded. “We going to keep you to that promise, cub,” he said with a smile. “I’m sure Padfoot will fill me in on everything you told him so we won’t keep you. I trust that Umbridge and Fudge aren’t causing you any problems about wanting your statement?”

Harry shook his head. “No one’s said anything,” he said. “So what are they doing about the investigation? I thought they needed to talk to me because I was a witness. They aren’t going to blame me for Cedric’s death, are they?”

“They better not,” James growled.

“No, not at all,” Remus said instantly. “We wouldn’t let that happen and neither would the Diggorys. I think Fudge is trying to find other sources of information so he can prove that Voldemort hasn’t returned. You are a last resort because he knows what you are going to say. He knows that his career will be over the moment it’s revealed your memories were seen to confirm Dumbledore’s statement.”

“So, why don’t we just let people in the Ministry see it?” Harry asked. “Wouldn’t it stop a lot of the problems with Fudge?”

Remus looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. “And let everyone know about your outbursts?” he asked. “Harry, we have to put up with Fudge right now to protect you. If the Ministry were to see what happened they could claim that you are too dangerous to attend Hogwarts then put you into Ministry custody to study these outbursts. Right now this is the only option we have. We’ll just have to do what we can to keep Fudge in line.”

“And with Fudge just waiting to have something over Harry he would jump at the opportunity,” Lily huffed.

Harry’s gaze fell as everything that Remus said hit him. So he was the reason everyone had to put up with Umbridge? Dumbledore was being publicly ridiculed to protect him? Why? Why endure so much for one person? Was he really worth it? Was any one person worth risking the safety of so many others? “Maybe you should just let them take me,” Harry muttered at last.

“Not in a million years,” Remus said firmly. “Harry, please understand that none of this is your fault. We will find a way to make the Ministry believe the truth. We just have to be careful for now. Don’t worry about this. Focus on your studies and Quidditch. Try to have a normal school year for once.”

“Well done Moony. I see your list is paying off,” Sirius beamed.

Harry couldn’t help but snort at the comment. It surely didn’t start out normal and so far was turning out just like his first year when everyone couldn’t stop whispering and getting looks at the-boy-who-lived. “I’ll try,” Harry said with a soft smile. “I should get going. I have to send a letter to Tonks and finish my homework. I’ll let you know if anything comes up here.”

“And we’ll do the same,” Remus said smiling. “Take care of yourself, cub.”

Sirius grabbed the mirror from Remus.

“Hey! Padfoot stole the mirror from me! Aren’t you going to do something? Didn’t you see that? He just went and grabbed it!” Remus cried and Sirius raised an eyebrow:

“At least say something original Moony!”

“Be sure to let us know if Snape’s being a git,” he said. “I have quite a few pranks in mind for him. I’m just waiting for a reason to do so. Don’t push yourself too hard, Pronglet. Your health comes first.”

Harry bid goodbye then put the mirror in his trunk. He couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed by everything he had heard. People were actually complaining about Umbridge but nothing could be done without revealing Harry wasn’t magically stable right now. Just another instance the Order was so close yet so far from achieving their objective. Why did everything always have to be so complicated?

---

After sending Hedwig off with his letter for Tonks, Harry, Ron and Hermione had an early lunch before Ron and Harry left for Quidditch practice. Ron had been fairly quiet all morning except for grumbling about schoolwork and the fact that Harry wouldn’t be able to participate in practice today. With as fidgety as Ron had been it was easy to see that he was nervous about his first practice with the team just like he had been nervous about tryouts. Anything Hermione said concerning schoolwork, Ron ignored her and looked at his watch which aggravated Hermione to no end.

Entering the pitch, Harry and Ron walked into the changing room and saw that the rest of the team besides Angelina was present. The team greeted Ron and teased Harry about getting out of the grueling practices Angelina was bound to put them through. Ron was wearing Oliver Wood’s old robes which fit him well and saved the team from needing to order another set of robes.

Harry watched practice from the stands. It started off with training Ron in a similar fashion to how the tryouts were. The team continuously tried to score on an extremely nervous Ron. Watching his best friend, Harry couldn’t help but think of how different he was from his best friend. Ron wanted attention and did what he could to receive some acknowledgment while Harry did what he could to stay in the shadows. It made Harry wonder what Ron would be like if he had been the-boy-who-lived.

“You can’t compare. If Ron had been the boy-who-lived would he still have six older brothers and a sister or are you saying he would have your life? Would he had been showered with attention from an early age or would he have been raised by abusive relatives?” Lily asked.

James looked at her weirdly.

“What she is saying is that all depends with the circumstances in which he was raised. Ron has always had to compete with a bunch of siblings for attention and has never stood out. That’s why he wants to stand out so much. Maybe if he had been the boy-who-lived and still had had his family but had been the one to stand out from the beginning he wouldn’t crave it so much for instance. Or maybe he would just be a stuck up little prat. The point is, you can’t compare this Ron with a Ron that had a different life. Yes, character is important and matters a lot, but experiences matter too. They mold us,” Remus explained.

Halfway through practice a group of Slytherins entered the stadium with Malfoy leading them. Harry instinctively grabbed his right wrist and felt his wand holster. He couldn’t be the instigator but he was prepared to defend himself if he had to. Keeping his gaze at his teammates, Harry watched the Slytherins approaching out of the corner of his eye. He had to bite back a groan in frustration. Why did Malfoy always have to cause trouble?

“Because he is Malfoy,” James offered.

“Well, well,” drawled Malfoy. “What’s the matter, Potter? Too good to practice now? Or maybe your expensive broom won’t support the weight your big head anymore.” His eyes narrowed when Harry didn’t look at him. Malfoy took a step closer and pulled out his wand. “Or maybe your morning visits to the hospital wing have something to do with it.”

“And I bet he told his daddy,” Remus grimaced.

“Hope not,” James joined the grimace. “But unfortunately hope here is not that high.”

Harry bit his lower lip as he desperately tried to keep his anger under control. He couldn’t lose control, not again. Despite what Sirius and Remus had told him, Harry knew the only thing he could do now was bury his emotions. He didn’t know how Malfoy found out about his morning checkups but it didn’t matter because there was no way Malfoy could know what they were about. Malfoy didn’t know anything. He was simply grasping at straws to force a confrontation. Harry was determined not to take the bait.

The only benefit of Malfoy taunting Harry was that he wasn’t taunting the team in the air. It would make Ron more nervous than he already was. All of a sudden Harry felt something poking into his back as Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry’s face. Determined not to panic, Harry finally shifted his gaze to Malfoy with passive look on his face. Unfortunately this only infuriated Malfoy more.

“It makes me sick how everyone fawns over you, Potter,” Malfoy spat. “Everyone fails to realize that if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have been in danger to begin with.” Harry inhaled sharply at the comment making Malfoy smirk. “Unless that was what you wanted. You love being the hero, don’t you, Potter? You love everyone following you like the little lost dogs they are.”

“Okay, I know he is a kid and you can’t pummel him but I want at least some serious pranking on that git!” James demanded.

“Don’t worry Prongs. Mr. Padfoot and Mr. Moony will not disappoint you,” Sirius said solemnly.

Harry was grabbed under the arms by Crabbe and Goyle, pulled to his feet then pulled out of the stands, the Slytherins surrounding him. Someone’s wand was still digging into his back. Malfoy led them to the nearest changing room then moved out of the way as Crabbe and Goyle threw Harry to the floor. Rolling over and sitting up, Harry saw the wands of Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Malfoy pointing at him. He scrambled to his feet and with a flick of the wrist had his wand in hand. He didn’t want to but he was ready to defend himself if necessary.

“And then you’ll all be in trouble,” Sirius said glaring at the book.

“Harry may be able to defend himself but it’s still pretty cowardly,” Lily huffed. “Five against one.”

“Ooooo!” Parkinson mocked. “I’m scared. It’s five against one, Potter.”

Malfoy glanced at Parkinson before returning his attention to Harry. “Unless Potter believes he can take us all at once,” he sneered as he took a step closer. “It wouldn’t surprise me. The Potters have a history of biting off more then they can chew or is that the influence of your pathetic guardians? How are your full moons, Potter?”

“Quite fine thank you very much for you concern,” Remus drawled.

Crabbe howled like a wolf while everyone else snickered.

“I bet he didn’t. I bet he doesn’t even know how a howl sounds like,” Sirius said annoyed.

 Harry glared at Malfoy as he tightened his grip on his wand. That was an extremely low blow. Malfoy always seemed to enjoy bashing Remus because of his being a werewolf and Sirius for turning against the Black family in joining Dumbledore’s side in the last war. It also didn’t help that Malfoy was related to Sirius through his through his mother. That was why he took Sirius’ choice of sides so personally.

“Harry! Don’t fall for it. He hasn’t said anything much yet. So what if he acknowledges the fact that I am a werewolf and Sirius is smarter than the rest of his family. It’s true anyway. He’s just goading you. If you start getting angry even before he starts with the derogatory comments you won’t have a chance. Stay cool. They hate it.”

“What’s going on here?” Fred shouted. The five Slytherins quickly turned around to see the Gryffindor Quidditch Team standing in the doorway with their wands in their hands. They all looked outraged. “It looks like this lot wanted to prove how cowardly they really are.”

“You forget something extremely important, you little ferret,” George said angrily, “you mess with one of us; you mess with all of us.” His eyes narrowed as he raised his wand and pointed it at Malfoy. “You mess with our brother and you’re in for a world of hurt. Get out before you are hit with so many curses that you won’t be walking for a week.”

Cheers were heard from the group.

“Well done George!” Lily beamed.

Harry took that opportunity to point his wand at Malfoy’s back. “How does it feel to be surrounded and outnumbered, Malfoy?” he asked evenly. The relief he was feeling from his teammates arriving was overriding the majority of his anger towards Malfoy right now. “Just remember this feeling, the helplessness and the fear the next time you decide to corner someone to demonstrate how much of a bully you are.”

The Quidditch Team moved out of the way and waited as the five Slytherins hurried out. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, having avoided a fairly messy confrontation. Lowering his wand, Harry let out a breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding. He knew he should have expected something like this happening. Malfoy had always been the first to act on jealousy. It was usually limited to taunts except for last year when Malfoy physically attacked Harry late one night. As if I don’t have enough to worry about.

Angelina called an end to practice, still a little shaken up by everything. Fred, George and Ron quickly changed robes then walked back to the castle with Harry, determined to serve as bodyguards in case Malfoy was stupid enough to try anything. They walked to the Gryffindor Tower in silence, only the password: ‘mimbulus mimbletonia’ being spoken to the Fat Lady portrait. The moment they entered the Common Room all four of them collapsed in chairs in front of the fire.

“So, how did practice go?” Hermione asked as she approached.

A glance was shared between the teammates before Harry turned to Hermione with a soft smile on his face. “Just fine,” he lied. Harry didn’t know why he was lying about this, especially to Hermione. It was most likely because he just wanted to forget the entire confrontation ever happened. Thinking about it made him angry which was the last thing Harry wanted to feel. “A few more practices like today and Ron will be ready in no time.”

“Like you saw much of the practice,” Ron muttered but everyone heard him. He ignored Harry and looked directly at his brothers for a moment before finally looking at his best friend. “I’m going to talk to Angelina and tell her you shouldn’t come to practice until you can fly, Harry. We can’t chance—”

“—I doubt there will be any more problems, Ron,” Harry interrupted calmly.

“You can’t just ignore this, Harry!” Fred exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. “What would have happened if we hadn’t noticed you missing when we did? It’s too risky. I agree with Ron. You just recovered from what happened on the train. We can’t take the chance of something like this happening again.”

“I personally think Harry won’t like being babied,” Lily said knowingly.

“What’s going on?” Hermione interrupted in confusion.

“Malfoy and his goons decided to pay us a visit at the pitch,” George answered. “Being the genius Malfoy is he tried to attack Harry in the changing room. We managed to interfere before anything happened but the problem is Malfoy was able to get to Harry. Five people against one isn’t something any of the teachers here would approve of.”

Hermione gasped then looked directly at Harry. She was interrupted from saying anything by the portrait entrance opening for the remaining members of the Quidditch team. Katie, Angelina and Alicia sat down in front of the fire, each of them looking exhausted. Silence hung for a long moment as everyone searched for something to say. Harry knew his teammates were upset and felt guilty for being the cause of it.

“I think we should approach McGonagall as a team,” Angelina said at last. “Malfoy is out of control.” She looked directly at Harry. “Something has to be done, Harry. If the Slytherins are like this now then I’d hate to see what they are like when we play them. This isn’t just a simple rivalry between houses anymore. This was an intentional act to cause you harm.”

“Yes, but you all seem to be forgetting something,” Remus said.

“What?” Sirius asked.

“Umbridge,” the other three answered together.

“Malfoy Sr. has Fudge in his pocket,” James said bitterly. “I bet Umbridge will interfere and probably spin it as Harry having attacked the Slytherins. It’s their word against the Slytherins. If they had been caught by a teacher it is one thing but going there and complaining is another completely different.”

“But it’s just our word against theirs,” Harry pointed out. “Snape isn’t going to accept his Slytherins to be punished when nothing really happened. Professor McGonagall knows this. The only thing she’ll do is ban me from the pitch until Madam Pomfrey deems me ready to fly. I can’t do that. I’m a part of this team and I will not hide from Draco Malfoy.” Harry stood up and looked at each member of the team before his gaze rested on Fred and George Weasley since he knew that they would be the hardest to convince. “I am not some little boy that needs to be sheltered and protected from everything. Nothing happened. Malfoy is jealous of me. I understand that. Tattling on him will only make things worse.”

Not wanting to continue the discussion, Harry retreated to his dorm room where he fell onto his bed and buried his face into his pillow. After everything that’s happened how could people believe that he was helpless against someone like Malfoy? He didn’t miss it when George had called him a brother. The Weasley twins had been protective for a while so Harry couldn’t say he was surprised. They were treating him like a younger brother who needed protection. The problem was Harry already had overprotective guardians and teachers who believed that he was still the same kid who arrived back in June, fighting for his life. He didn’t need siblings treating him the same way.

“Told you so,” Lily snorted.

---

Surprisingly nothing about the encounter with Malfoy was said to Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore. The team and Hermione seemed to agree that bringing the matter public would only make things worse. That didn’t stop the team (minus Harry) from going to Madam Hooch and requesting that she supervise their practices for a professional opinion on training a new Keeper. Madam Hooch was touched by the compliment and agreed giving the Gryffindor team a way to ensure that Malfoy didn’t try something else during practice.

The rest of the weekend was rather boring. Completing the remainder of his homework and writing in his dream journal was all Harry had planned. There was no way to describe the relief Harry felt when he finally finished his homework. It was all Harry needed to know not to let his homework from the week pile up like Ron had since Ron was close to pulling his hair out in frustration. Hermione and Harry helped as much as they could but when Ron got into his moods Harry and Hermione realized it was best to keep their distance.

Sunday evening had arrived and Ron was still trying to finish his assignments. Harry and Hermione were sitting by the fire relaxing when a tapping noise interrupted the silence. Hermione was the first to notice Hermes, Percy’s screech owl, standing on the windowsill looking at Ron. She hurried over to the window and opened it, allowing the owl to fly in and land on the table in front of Ron. Harry and Hermione approached the table slowly, not knowing why on earth Percy would send Ron a letter since Percy was supposed to be not speaking to his family.

As soon as Ron removed the letter attached to the owl’s leg, it flew out the same way it entered, leaving the room back to its silence. “Shall we see what good ol’ Percy has to say?” Ron asked sarcastically as he unrolled the scroll and started to read. Whatever it was it certainly wasn’t good news judging from the anger that was appearing on Ron’s face. Once Ron was finished he slammed the letter down on the table. “I can’t believe this!”

“What did he say?” Hermione asked softly.

Ron handed over the letter for Harry and Hermione to read.

Hello Ron,

Congratulations on becoming a Prefect! Words can not begin to express my joy to learn you are not following in Fred and George’s footsteps.

“I know,” Sirius said sadly. “It was a blow, but we are recovering,” he finished with a long suffering sigh that was echoed by James.

 It is my hope that you will make me proud of the responsibility that has been given to you. Now is the time to start making decisions on your future. Regardless of what others may say, you need to understand that you are in charge of your choices for the future. Don’t let someone who is misguided get in your way. I know you are capable of great things, Ron; you just need to have confidence in yourself.

I know you may still be upset with my choices but you can’t deny the Ministry doesn’t have justification to ask questions. Harry Potter has always been a loose cannon, along with Dumbledore. Measures are finally being taken to ensure that the free reign Dumbledore has had doesn’t last. Read the ‘Daily Prophet’ tomorrow and you’ll understand. Remember to keep yourself and your true friends out of trouble.

“WHAT?” James and Sirius cried together.

“The git-“ James started but was promptly cut by an annoyed Lily:

“Is playing a part and giving them information.”

Your brother,

Percy

“I can’t believe he would say such a thing!” Ron ranted as he stood up and started pacing. “How could he even think it?”

Harry handed back the letter and let out a sigh. He had to admit that if he didn’t know Percy was working undercover he would be hurt by what was written. The catch was that Percy was working undercover and from what Mad-Eye Moody had said the mail was currently being watched. Everyone needed to be careful with what they put into writing, especially when it came to members of the Order and their children.

Lily raised and eyebrow at James who still looked furious.

“Well, he’s warning us about something that will be in the ‘Daily Prophet’ tomorrow,” Hermione offered. “He’s also warning us to stay out of trouble. Do you think he knows how much of a pain Umbridge is?”

 “I wouldn’t doubt it,” Harry said as he moved in front of Ron, blocking his path. “Ron, remember Percy has a role to play,” he said quietly. “He’s warning all of us without making it look like it. He has to say something about me because the entire Ministry is. Don’t take it personally. I’m not.”

“See,” Lily said forcibly.

“Okay,” James mumbled. “Maybe.”

Ron inhaled sharply as he glared at Harry, his anger only increasing. “YOU KNOW WHAT!” he shouted. “I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THIS NEW ATTITUDE YOU HAVE! WOULD IT KILL YOU JUST TO GET ANGRY LIKE THE REST OF US ONCE IN A WHILE OR ARE YOU TOO GOOD FOR THAT?”

“RON!” Hermione scolded.

“I hate to agree with someone that is yelling at Harry, but it is unnerving,” Sirius nodded.

Ron didn’t wait for an answer and stormed up the stairs to his dorm room. Harry let out a sigh and turned to Hermione who was looked at him sympathetically. Is that what everyone thought? Is that what his best friends thought? Did they believe that he thought he was better than them just because he kept his emotions inside? They don’t know I have no choice. They can never know.

“If you told them then they might understand,” Remus said wisely. “Otherwise you can’t really blame them for getting annoyed. Sirius is right. It is unnerving.”

“Harry—I—don’t listen to him,” Hermione stuttered as she walked to Harry and rested a gentle hand on his arm. “Yes, you keep a lot to yourself but it’s not your fault. We know you’ve been through a lot. Give Ron some time to cool off before you talk to him. He’s still upset about what Malfoy did but you do have a point about Percy. He has to write things if he’s going to fool the Ministry.”

Harry nodded but didn’t say anything. He knew that this was the price he had to pay for keeping secrets from his friends but it had to be done. He had spent too many years already as a freak. He needed to hold on to any shred of normalcy that he possibly could for as long as he could. With everything that was happening, it was what Harry needed to stay sane right now.

With nothing else to do, Harry retreated to bed a short time later. Ron’s hangings were pulled shut so Harry quietly changed, cast a few silencing charms around his four poster bed, and crawled in, making certain his own hangings were closed. He didn’t know how long he tossed and turned before finally falling asleep. Of course, the dull ache that came from his scar didn’t help matters either.

---

Darkness was replaced by dim lighting as he opened his eyes. His back was sore and his limbs were stiff. Slowly, he sat up and looked around to find himself alone in a scarcely furnished room. There was only a bed, bed side table and a cupboard. He pulled himself out of bed as the door slowly creaked open. Standing tall, he watched as a short black cloaked figure entered the room.

“Wormtail,” he hissed in his high pitched voice making the cloaked figure jump in surprise. “Tell me everything, now!”

“Great, now he’s back having visions and stupid Voldemort is up and about. Just bloody great!” James grunted.

“M—Master, y—you’re awake!” Pettigrew stuttered as he remained by the door, too afraid to come any closer.

“No Peter, he is sleepwalking,” Sirius said annoyed. “Now we have to read about Peter being a traitor and groveling on Voldemort’s feet. I hate it.”

 “W—well, it is September now. Y—you’ve b—been in a coma for n—nearly two and a half months. W—we don’t know what P—Potter did so w—we didn’t know how to h—heal you.”

“I am surrounded by idiots,” he spat, his anger growing.

“Figuring that one only now,” Lily snorted.

 “None of you could counter something a mere child managed to do to me?”

Pettigrew dropped to his knees. “F—forgive me, Master!” he pleaded. “W—we were lost w—without your guidance. P—Potter escaped that n—night and told the m—muggle loving fool e—everything. T—the rumor is that P—Potter almost died that n—night and is s—still recovering. The M—Minister doesn’t believe D—Dumbledore. He d—doesn’t believe you’re b—back, my lord.”

A smile appeared on his distorted face. “So, that imbecile of a Minister is acting exactly how we need him to and Potter is weak,” he said with pleasure. This was better than he could hope for. “What proof do you have on Potter’s condition?”

“I hate a happy Voldemort,” Remus said bitterly.

Pettigrew fidgeted nervously. “W—well, two amateurs were r—restless and a—attacked the train t—taking the students to H—Hogwarts,” he stuttered. “T—they c—cornered P—Potter and t—tried to f—find out what h—he did t—to you. P—Potter was i—injured in the e—encounter.”

A growl escaped his lips. This was certainly not what he wanted. “Fools!” he sneered. “Where’s my wand? I shall deal with them myself!”

“T—the fools a—are d—dead, my lord,” Pettigrew said nervously. “W—w f—felt best to d—dispose of t—them t—to p—protect you.”

A hiss escaped his lists. “Give me your arm, Wormtail,” he ordered. “It is time that my servants pay the price for their incompetence. Potter will pay for what he has done to me. Whatever this power that Potter has and that muggle loving fool fears, I want it. No one will be more powerful than me…no one, especially not Harry Potter.”

Pettigrew crawled to his master’s feet and held out his left arm that was shaking slightly to reveal the dark mark. He quickly grabbed Pettigrew’s arm and stood there as Pettigrew started to scream in pain. Another voice joined Pettigrew’s as the scene faded away and Harry Potter awoke in his bed gasping for breath and holding his scar that was screaming in pain.

Harry didn’t even realize that he was shaking as he grabbed his glasses and ran out of his dorm room. He didn’t care it was the middle of the night as he ran down the stairs, through the Common Room and out of the portrait entrance that opened the moment he reached it. His body was on autopilot as he ran through the hallways and down the staircases until he reached the gargoyle statue and skidded to a halt. He needed to see Dumbledore but how was he supposed to get in if he didn’t know the password?

“…my…child…lemon…drops…”

“Who said that?” Sirius asked the others shrugged.

Harry instantly turned around to face the owner of the strange echoing voice only to find nothing. His sense of urgency squelching his curiosity, Harry turned back to the statue and whispered, ‘lemon drops’. The gargoyle sprang to like and moved out of the way. The wall split to reveal a stone staircase that was moving upward in a spiral motion. Harry hurried up the staircase until he reached a polished wood door with a griffin brass knocker on it. Hoping against hope that Professor Dumbledore would hear him, Harry rapped the knocker three times and waited, his patience wearing thin.

He didn’t have to wait long for the door to open slowly to reveal Dumbledore’s office that was dimly lit by only a few candles. Cautiously, Harry entered and glanced around for the Headmaster. The portraits of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses were all asleep. The door closed behind him allowing Harry to see Fawkes, Dumbledore’s phoenix, sleeping on his perch. No one seemed to pay any attention to him. No one seemed to even realize he was there but if that was the case then who let him in?

Reaching Dumbledore’s desk, Harry rubbed his still burning scar as he debated whether he should just take a seat and wait or try to find Dumbledore. Before Harry could reach a decision an overwhelming wave of power shot through his entire body, forcing him to fall to all fours. He hadn’t felt one this powerful since the third task and instantly started to panic. What was he supposed to do?

“Is he having an outburst?” Sirius asked worried.

“Seems like,” lily bit her lips.

His body started to shake uncontrollably as the room started to brighten. It quickly became too bright forcing Harry to close his eyes. His chest was starting to burn alerting Harry that he wasn’t breathing. He tried to take in a breath but his lungs wouldn’t work. His body was screaming for air as he collapsed to the ground. Slowly the outburst vanished but Harry was too exhausted to move. He felt something soft against his face and partially opened his eyes to see Fawkes looking at him curiously. Harry could only groan as his eyes closed again. He felt Fawkes’ feathers against his face and the phoenix’s head resting on his shoulder. The bird was staying by his side, protecting him.

The next thing Harry knew a hand was gently touching his face as another was rubbing his back. A muffled, worried voice filled his ears forcing Harry to open his eyes if only partially. Releasing a groan, Harry found himself being rolled over onto his back and gently pulled up into someone’s arms. His head tilted to the left and rested against something firm. Harry wanted nothing more than to go to sleep but the clearing voice wouldn’t let him.

“Harry, you need to tell me what happened,” Professor Dumbledore said gently. “I promise you can sleep then.”

Harry let out a groan as he tilted his head back and looked at Dumbledore’s worried face. “Scar,” he said tiredly. “He’s awake…calling them…I…couldn’t find you…out burst…bad…one couldn’t…breathe…”

Dumbledore’s arms tightened around Harry as he let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, my boy,” he said softly. “I should have known you would try to find me. Does your scar still hurt, Harry? Are you in any pain whatsoever?”

Blinking slowly, Harry met Dumbledore’s gaze as he processed what Dumbledore was asking. Did his scar hurt? Was he in pain? “No,” Harry said at last as he fought to keep his eyes open. “Just tired. Scar…doesn’t hurt…now.”

“Then let him sleep!” James cried angry. “Stop asking questions.”

Professor Dumbledore smiled softly and nodded as he repositioned his hold on the teenager. “Very well,” he said; relief clearly present in his voice. “Go to sleep, Harry. We can talk more about this in the morning.”

Harry closed his eyes and let his head fall forward and against Dumbledore’s chest. Right now, he was simply too tired to care about anything other than sleep. He had done what he set out to do. Professor Dumbledore could do whatever he needed with the information. The important thing was that someone knew that Voldemort was finally awake.