Magic At Its Deepest

Chapter Six

On September the first, Harry was awakened by a soft female voice. "Harry," she was whispering. "Harry, dear, wake up."

Harry grumbled softly and rolled over. "Five more minutes, Mrs. Weasley."

There was a brief silence, and then the voice spoke again. "Harry, it's me, your mum. Please wake up."

"Mum?" Harry rolled over and blinked myopically at the blurry figure of his mother. "Oh...sorry, I didn't recognize your voice."

Lily smiled sadly. "It's all right, Harry," she said, and placed his glasses on his face. "You know what today is, right?"

Harry blinked. "It's September first. Classes start today," he said.

"Yes." Lily smiled, reached down and brushed his hair out of his face. "And I have something to give you."

Harry blinked again and sat up in bed. "You do?" he said, surprised.

"Yes." Lily pulled a long, thin box out of her pocket and handed it to Harry. "Keep this a secret, Harry, even from Hermione and the Weasleys. Sirius, Remus and the Headmaster know I'm giving it to you, but nobody else does, and it needs to stay that way."

Harry opened the box and blinked down at the wand inside it. It was longer than his and obviously fashioned of a darker wood, but somehow it felt familiar. He reached down to touch it, a shiver running through him as his fingers closed around its handle. "Mum," he said softly, "what..."

"Your father's wand." Lily smiled at the startled look on his face. "Since you're so very like James, I thought it might work for you, and given the...unique connection between your wand and Voldemort's, Sirius and I thought it wouldn't be the worst idea for you to have a secondary. Just in case."

Harry swallowed and stood up slowly, examining the wand closely. Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Those had been Ollivander's words to him, four years before, and it was true; he could feel the power in this wand, almost a living thing. "I...mum, I don't know what to say," he said softly.

"Try Accio," Lily suggested with a smile. "Or some other spell. Just to see."

Harry licked his lips and pointed the wand at a pillow on Ron's bed. "Accio pillow," he said, softly but clearly. It worked, but not quite as well as it should - instead of soaring into his outstretched hand, it smacked him in the face. "Ow."

"Oops," Lily said, giggling. "Not perfect then...but close, or it wouldn't have worked." She picked up the pillow and tossed it back onto Ron's bed, then turned back to Harry with a smile. "I had the feeling it would work for you, Harry. You really are so much like your father."

Harry leaned up against her, still staring at the wand. His father's wand. His father had held this wand, had used it for every spell he ever cast, from the simplest Wingardium Leviosa to the incantation used to finalize the Animagus transformation.

"It worked then?" asked an unfamiliar voice at the door, and Harry looked up, eyebrows going up at the sight of the strange woman standing there smiling at him. A moment later, he realized that it was actually Sirius in his disguise, and he started laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.

"Oh, thank you," said his godfather, slender hands resting on round hips, a scowl on his face, which was a bit rounder than usual. "Thank you very much. This was your idea, might I remind you."

"I know," Harry managed to say between hysterical giggles. "That's half the fun."

Lily snickered softly at Sirius' indignant expression. "Look on the bright side, Sirius," she said. "Nobody would ever imagine it was you."

"That's the truth," Harry said, eyes dancing with mirth. "You sort of look like a blonde Mrs. Weasley."

Sirius growled, and Harry burst out laughing again.

After breakfast, the teachers began to arrive. McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout, the Heads of House who were present, all got there before lunch, and Harry had a very pleasant meal with them, Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore. Harry was only a little surprised to learn that Hagrid was still off on a mission for Dumbledore, but he was surprised when he found out that nobody but Dumbledore knew who was teaching Care of Magical Creatures. "He'll be coming in from the Continent just in time for Dinner" was all Dumbledore would say on the subject.

When the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade Station, Harry went down to meet it, accompanied by Remus Lupin. The train had barely gotten into the station when Harry caught sight of the Weasleys and Hermione, a chestnut island adrift in a sea of copper. He'd seen them recently, but their reunion was no less exuberant for that; Hermione hugged him, so did Ginny, and Ron and the twins pounded his back. They all clambered into a carriage together, and Hermione astonished Harry by climbing onto Ron's lap. "When did this happen?" he exclaimed, startled.

Ron flushed. "Yesterday," he said softly.

"Oh," said Harry, and smiled. "About bloody time, Weasley."

Ron's ears went red as Hermione and Ginny giggled and the twins snickered. "You knew?"

"Oh, please, Ron. You used to think she was scary. Of course you were going to end up falling in love with her."

Fred, George and Ginny howled with laughter as Hermione and Ron blushed.

Dinner was a very interesting affair, to say the least. Remus' reinstatement as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was met with tumultuous applause by everybody but the Slytherins, to nobody's surprise but his own. Harry warned the Weasleys and Hermione ahead of time that Sirius' disguise bore an odd resemblance to a blonde version of Mrs. Weasley, so they managed to control themselves, but there was still quite a bit of snickering from them when they saw him. When Dumbledore announced that Professor Snape was away for an unspecified length of time, many of the Slytherins looked surprised, including Draco Malfoy. Apparently there were some things Lucius didn't tell him.

"Also," said Dumbledore as the polite applause for 'Professor Keating' died down, "Professor Rubeus Hagrid has been called away for the school for a few days. Until his return, Mr. Filch will be taking on the role of gamekeeper in addition to his caretaking duties. Our new Care of Magical Creatures Professor is running a bit late, I'm afraid, but he'll make his presence known shortly, I believe."

Hermione and the Weasleys looked over at him expectantly, and he shrugged. "Don't ask me," he said dryly. "Even the other teachers don't know."

"Hope it's not Grubbly-Plank again," Ron said, poking his food with his fork. "And I hope Hagrid comes back soon. It's not the same without him."

With that sentiment Harry readily agreed.

Whoever their new Care of Magical Creatures Professor was, he still wasn't there when Harry and the others went up to bed. To nobody's surprise, Hermione was the new Prefect, and she gave the password - "Fortune Favors the Bold" - in authoritative tones, shepherding the first-years as if she'd been practicing for it her whole life. Which, knowing Hermione, she probably had.

"Wonder where Hagrid is," said Seamus Finnegan as they got ready for bed.

"Probably out trying to find a Chimera to surprise us with," said Neville gloomily.

"Or a Manticore," Dean agreed.

Harry bit his lip to keep from snapping at his friends; they didn't know that Hagrid was on a mission against Voldemort, or how much danger he was in because of it, or they wouldn't have been joking. "He really likes dragons," he said, trying to keep his voice light.

"Oh, good," said Seamus with a wicked smile. "Maybe Malfoy will call it stupid and it'll barbecue him."

With an image like that in his head, it was really no wonder Harry's dreams that night were good.

The next morning at breakfast, Harry's mood went through the roof as he got a look at his schedule. Charms was with Slytherin, unfortunately, and so was Herbology...but Transfiguration was with Hufflepuff, and Potions was with Ravenclaw. Harry felt a stab of pity for the poor Hufflepuffs who would have to be in a classroom with Malfoy, but knowing that it was Sirius and not Snape teaching the class made him pretty sure they wouldn't be able to get away with much. After all, as Fred and George said, they'd never been able to get away with playing up in Professor Lupin's class - it was hard to get one over on a Marauder.

"Care of Magical Creatures first," Ron announced, looking at his schedule. "With Hufflepuff."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Guess the new teacher got here, then," he said. "Wonder what he's like."

"I heard McGonagall and Flitwick talking this morning," Hermione said. "Apparently they found out who it was this morning. I didn't hear a name..." She smiled widely. "But I did hear that he used to be a Gryffindor."

"Wicked!" chorused Ron, Seamus, Dean, Harry, Neville and the twins.

"Oh, that's good news," said Ginny. "He'll probably be real nice."

"Who cares if he's nice?" Seamus said, grinning. "I'm just hoping he'll be biased!"

The new teacher had not yet arrived yet when they lined up outside Hagrid's hut the next day. A few of the Hufflepuffs greeted Harry cheerfully when he, Ron, and Hermione arrived, and he was just starting to have an amicable conversation with Justin Finch-Fletchley when the door to Hagrid's cabin opened. Harry and the others looked up, and he gasped, shocked, as their new teacher strode out of the room, smiling. "Hello," he said cheerfully. "Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures. My name is Charlie Weasley, and I'll be your Professor until Hagrid returns."

There was a startled silence from the students, and then a few of the Hufflepuffs called out weak greetings. The Gryffindors, most of whom knew all about Ron's older brothers, simply stared. "Charlie?" Ron managed to say at length.

"Ah, I see my youngest brother has regained the power of speech," said Charlie dryly. "Good morning, Ron, Hermione. Harry! Good to see you, mate. How've you been?"

"Er...I've been good, Char--Professor," Harry said, belatedly remembering Charlie's new position.

"Oh, please." Charlie laughed. "Charlie to you, Harry, always, and to you, Hermione. Actually, you can all call me Charlie...but if the Slytherins ask, it's Professor Weasley."

"Well," said Seamus with a grin, "I guess that answers my question about whether or not he'll be biased."

After class, Harry, Ron and the other Gryffindors ran back to the Common Room. Dean and Seamus dragged all the boys down into the room, and Lavender and Pavarti got the girls. When all the Gryffindors were in the room, Ron hopped up on the table and announced, "We just came from Care of Magical Creatures, and you're not going to believe who our new teacher is!"

The other Gryffindors gathered around, eager. "Who is it, Ron?" Fred called. "Was it really a Gryffindor?"

"Yeah, but not just any Gryffindor," said Ron. "It was Charlie."

Ginny and the twins gasped in shock. "Charlie?" Ginny squealed. "Our brother Charlie?"

"Yeah!" said Ron over the startled exclamations of the others. "It was wicked! He said we could all call him Charlie even in class, except for the Slytherins, and he brought a Crup for us to see."

"It was really cute," said Lavender. "He said they were really loyal to wizards but hate Muggles."

"Made me wish I had one at the Dursleys'," Harry murmured softly to Ginny, who giggled.

"Well, then that's two new teachers who don't like the Slytherins," said Angelina, grinning. "We had Potions with them this morning and Professor Keating was really nice...to us. But the Slytherins..."

Fred snickered softly. "We were working on Polyjuice Potion," he explained. "Bloody hard potion, of course, but most of us were doing pretty well, though we won't know for a month if it worked."

"Polyjuice is a potion that lets the maker take on the appearance of another person," Alicia explained to the younger students. Harry and Ron tried to look like this was news to them, but Harry couldn't help wondering how the twins would react if they knew that Hermione had brewed that 'Bloody hard potion' to perfection at the age of twelve.

"Yes," said Fred. "Anyway, Pucey and Bole were partnered, and they screwed the potion up on purpose, which was just stupid. I mean, it's dangerous enough when you do it right. Anyway, they added a bit of Erumpent fluid - it had to be on purpose, there's no way even they're that stupid - and the thing exploded. I think they thought they could scare Keating into submission or something."

"Boy, were they wrong," said George gleefully. "She wasn't scared, she was pissed!"

"She grabbed each of them by an ear," Alicia reported, demonstrating with the twins, "and started to yell at them."

"'Never in all my life have I seen such an appalling display!'" Angelina cried in a fair impression of Keating's alto. "'Did Professor Snape let you all run wild? I have it on good authority that he kept the rest of the Houses on a short leash, but I suppose he let you Slytherins get away with murder? Well, I hope you don't think that I'm going to! Detention for both of you for a week, and twenty points from Slytherin!"

"Each," chorused Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Lee Jordan and the twins, and burst out laughing.

After lunch, the Gryffindor fifth-years headed down to Charms class. They were all very surprised to find Albus Dumbledore seated in the classroom with Flitwick. "Good afternoon, class," Flitwick squeaked as they sat down.

"Good afternoon, Professor Flitwick," they chorused,. Harry was the only one who thought to add "Good afternoon, Headmaster."

"Good afternoon, Harry," Dumbledore said, and smiled as the rest of the class hastily added their greetings.

"The spell we're going to be learning today is called the Power Gauge," Flitwick said, looking very excited. When properly cast, it reveals the strength of the subject's magical power by way of an aura of white light. The stronger the light glows, the more powerful the subject is. I've asked the Headmaster to come down and demonstrate." Flitwick turned around to Dumbledore, smiling merrily. "Shall we show them just what old Flitwick is made of, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, of course, Filius," he said, and pulled his wand from his pocket, pointing it at Flitwick's chest. "Potente Montro," he said, and flicked his wrist sharply.

Harry gasped softly as the spell took effect, and he wasn't the only one. Flitwick's entire body was glowing bright white. It poured from his eyes and smile, from his fingers, from every inch of him and bathed the room in power.

"Bloody Hell," said somebody from the direction of Seamus Finnegan.

Flitwick's lips curled into a small smile. "Thank you, Headmaster. I believe they'll have a bit more respect for me from now on, hmm?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Indeed, Filius, indeed," he said, and waved his wand again, banishing the bright glow.

Filius raised his wand and pointed it at Dumbledore. "Your turn, Headmaster," he said with a slight smirk.

Dumbledore sighed. "Ah, the things I do for my faculty," he said resignedly, and spread his arms. "Have at me, then, Filius."

Flitwick flicked his wand and gave the incantation, and Harry's jaw dropped open as the room filled once more with light, bright, cornea-searing white light. It blazed with the force of the sun, so brightly that Dumbledore's face and body disappeared, leaving nothing behind but the light.

There was an awed silence in the room. When the light faded, the silence remained, every eye in the room fixed on Dumbledore, who seemed mildly amused by their reactions. "Thank you, Headmaster," Flitwick said at length.

"You're very welcome, Filius," said Dumbledore, and sat back down. Harry realized with a sinking feeling that he was going to be watching them to see who was the strongest among them.

"Everyone choose a partner, go on," Flitwick said, and Ron and Harry edged a little closer, while Hermione immediately turned to a relieved Neville. Seamus and Dean were partnered, as were Lavender and Parvati. Draco Malfoy partnered with Blaise Zabini, while Pansy Parkinson partnered with Millicent Bulstrode and Crabbe partnered with Goyle.

"Now, then," said Flitwick. "I'll be calling you up one pair at a time to test your mastery of the spell. Remember, the incantation is "Potente Montro."

The next half hour was interesting, to say the least. Harry learned that the majority of his classmates were about equal in power, though some - notably Crabbe and Goyle - were considerably lower than others. He was rather delighted to note that Neville's was not by any means the lowest in the class, and even more delighted by the fact that Hermione outshone everybody but the teachers, even a very disgruntled Malfoy.

He and Ron were the last to go, and he had the feeling that was done deliberately. "Now then, Mister Potter, if you would, please?"

Harry swallowed and mentally resolved that he would get the spell right the first time and not have to be helped as so many of the others had been. He pointed his wand at Ron, who was looking rather green, and gave the incantation, flicking his wrist in what he hoped was the proper manner as he did.

Much to his pleasant surprise, it worked. The moment the last syllable left his mouth, Ron was suffused with a white glow. Harry was extremely pleased and quite proud when he realized that Ron's glow was brighter than anybody's but Hermione's. Ron seemed rather pleased by this as well, and Malfoy looked the most infuriated he'd ever been.

"Very good, Mister Potter," Flitwick said delightedly. "Now then, Mister Weasley, if you would please."

Ron waved his wand at Harry and spoke the incantation clearly, obviously as determined as Harry had been to show up Malfoy - it had taken the Slytherin two tries to get it right, and he'd had an easier time of it than anybody else in his House.

What happened next came as a total surprise to every single one of the students, and none of them so much as Harry. The moment Ron's spell took effect, the room filled with light, and if Dumbledore's aura had been a sun, Harry's was a supernova. The light shone like a beacon, filling the room and spilling out into the grounds. A glance out the window showed nothing but white as far as the eye could see, Harry's magic glowing with the light of ten thousand suns.

The room was totally silent, even after Dumbledore cleared the light with a brief wave of his wand. Every eye in the room was on Harry, who was flushing lightly and looking down at his shoes. Malfoy looked absolutely horror-struck, his usually pale face gone even whiter and tinged with green. Even Dumbledore looked mildly surprised, and Flitwick looked dumbfounded.

"Er, yes," said Dumbledore at length. "Well...well done, Mister Weasley."

"Yes," said Flitwick. "I...yes, Professor?"

Minerva McGonagall was standing in the doorway of the classroom, looking distinctly ruffled. "Professor Dumbledore," she said, "did you see the white light a moment ago?"

Dumbledore's eyebrows went up. "Yes," he said. "Did you?"

"Everybody did," McGonagall said. "The entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team just ran up from practicing on the Pitch to see what was going on. They said the light was so bright they could hear people screaming in Hogsmeade thinking we were under attack."

All eyes turned back to Harry, who went beet-red and lowered his eyes, embarrassed. Then Dumbledore turned back to McGonagall, looking amused. "Please alert the village that we are not being attacked, Minerva. We were just practicing the Power Gauge spell. That light you saw was young Harry's magical aura."

"Potter?" McGonagall's jaw dropped, and she stared at Harry in shock. "Potter made that light, Albus? I thought it was you."

"Alas, I'm afraid young Harry far, er, outshines me, as it were," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling.

"Yes," said Harry quietly. "I'll just be crawling in a hole and dying now, pardon me."

Fifteen minutes later, Minerva McGonagall walked into the staff room. Professors Lupin, Keating, and Sprout - who had seen the light from her greenhouses and rushed to see what was the matter - were waiting for her. When she walked in, they stood up. "Well?" Sprout demanded. "What was it?"

"Professor Flitwick was teaching the fifth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins the Power Gauge spell," McGonagall said. "That light we saw was Harry Potter's magical aura."

Jaws dropped. The three Professors stared at McGonagall for a long time, unable to speak. "Harry did that?" Remus whispered at length. "Fifteen-year-old Harry?"

"Yes." McGonagall smiled slightly. "Draco Malfoy looked like he was going to die of a heart attack on the spot."

"Harry Potter?" said Remus. "Short, skinny, black hair, green eyes?"

McGonagall smirked. "Yes, Remus," she said. "Harry Potter. Apparently he's even more powerful than Dumbledore."

Remus made a choked sound and fell silent. Sprout swallowed and shook her head slowly. "Harry Potter," she said softly. "I always knew he was powerful but...I saw that from the greenhouse!"

"They saw it in Hogsmeade too," said McGonagall. "They thought we were under attack."

"My goodness," said Sprout. "Harry Potter."

McGonagall turned to Professor Keating, who was just sitting there, white-faced. "Professor Keating? Are you all right?"

Keating looked up, blinked, opened her mouth, closed it again, then opened it and announced, "Brain go flurgy."

And that, Remus decided, pretty much sums it up.

By the time dinner rolled around that night, word of Harry's magical prowess had spread through the school. When he, Ron, and Hermione walked through the doors of the Great Hall, the room went silent, and he flushed scarlet as every eye in the room locked on him. "I suppose it's too much to hope that I have toilet roll fastened to my shoe."

Hermione's lips curved upward into a slight smile. "Sorry, Harry," she said. "I think they heard about the spell."

Harry groaned softly. "Why? Why me? Why did I have to be the one to talk to snakes and light up like a Christmas tree?"

"Poor Harry," Hermione said sympathetically. "Your life resists all things normal."

Harry sighed as he and the others made their way over to the Gryffindor table, blushing scarlet as Fred and George left their seats and began to genuflect dramatically before him. "We are not worthy of your company, Oh Great One!"

"Oh, do shut up," Harry groaned, flopping down into his seat and burying his face in his hands.

Ginny gave her twin brothers a nasty glare before reaching over and putting a sympathetic hand on Harry's shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about it, Harry," she said softly. "You know how it is. Next week somebody will get caught snogging somebody else's girlfriend in a closet and the whole school will forget all about this."

Harry looked up at her with a hopeful expression that was really very unfairly cute. "You think so, Gin?"

Ginny's heart skipped a beat. Gin. He called me Gin. He gave me a nickname! True, being named after a sort of alcohol isn't very flattering, but I'll take what I can get. "Sure," she said, hoping she sounded more casual than she felt. "You know how it is. They'll gossip about it for a while, but eventually, something will come along and give them something new to talk about."

"Yeah," Harry said dryly. "And with my luck, the something new will involve me, too."

As Harry lamented his total lack of privacy to his friends, his mother lay thinking about her son. Remus had come by earlier to tell her about the Power Gauge spell; she had been the only person in the castle who hadn't seen it. Her room was hidden behind a magical mirror which appeared solid, but allowed witches and wizards to pass through it freely. Fewer than a half-dozen people alive knew that the room existed; even the school's teaching staff was unaware of it. In fact, Lily, Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore were the only ones who knew about it. It had been Lily and James' favored make-out spot.

Her son was powerful; well, this was no surprise. He was, after all, a Potter, the son of a magical bloodline dating back to the founding of Hogwarts. And Lily herself, despite being Muggle-born, boasted no small amount of power. Still, she had never quite expected her son to be this powerful, and it concerned her, largely because she suspected that at least part of that power had been transferred to him from Voldemort, and that sort of power he could live without.

Lily didn't think, however, that all of that power, or even most of it, had come from the Dark Lord. Harry would have been powerful no matter what had happened in his life, she was certain. There were secrets of his past he didn't know, secrets of his heritage which even his godfather was unaware of. Lily knew why Voldemort had tried to kill her son. Dumbledore knew, as well. And the time was fast approaching when Harry himself would have to be told.

Lily only hoped he would be able to handle it.

"Vampires," said Remus the next day as the last of the fifth-year Slytherins slid into his classroom. Harry and the other Gryffindors set up a little straighter in their chairs, but the Slytherins remained in their slouched positions, obviously not impressed. Remus didn't notice, or if he did, he didn't comment; he reached into his suitcase and pulled out what was unmistakably a tooth. Easily half an inch long, it was quite intimidating. "This is a vampire's fang."

"Cool," breathed Seamus Finnegan, leaning closer to it. "Did you kill the vampire it was attached to?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't take the credit for that. An old friend of mine who was an Auror gave me that almost fifteen years ago. He took the other fang for himself, made it into a necklace. He used to wear it all over the place."

"Who was it, Professor?"

Remus looked up at Seamus, eyebrows raised. "Sirius Black."

There was a startled silence. "Sirius Black was your friend?" Seamus gasped, at length.

"Sirius Black was an Auror?" Neville put in.

"Sirius Black wore a necklace?" That came from Draco Malfoy, who flushed slightly as all eyes in the room turned to him.

"Yes. To all the above," said Remus, and winked at Harry, who grinned and winked back. "Sirius and I were friends once. We were in Gryffindor together."

"Sirius Black was a Gryffindor?"

"Yes, Miss Brown. Sirius Black was a Gryffindor. Let that be a lesson to you not to assume that your House isn't above corruption." This was said with an apologetic glance at Harry; Sirius was innocent, but Peter Pettigrew had been a Gryffindor too.

Harry met Remus' glance with a smile and a slight nod to indicate that he'd known Remus meant his godfather no offense. Remus smiled back slightly and continued talking. "Vampires are one of the few sorts of creatures known to Muggles, though they have some very odd notions about them," he began. "There's a book, called 'Dracula', that those of you who are taking Muggle Studies will be reading, which is full of them. One of the most common is the belief that..."

At this point, Harry silenced Remus' lecture, albeit inadvertently, by toppling over sideways, falling out of his chair onto the floor, and starting to scream.

"Harry!" Remus dropped the fang he was holding and rushed over to the boy's side. Harry's eyes were screwed shut, his fists clenched so tight his nails were drawing blood from his hands. As Remus watched in horror, he started convulsing, the screams getting louder and more hoarse.

"Oh come off it, Potter, you big faker," said Draco Malfoy from his seat.

Remus spun around, eyes flashing angrily, and snarled. Draco, perhaps remembering that his Professor was a werewolf, went white and shut his mouth, staring with wide eyes as Remus turned back to Harry's prone form just in time to see him start to foam at the mouth. "He's having one of those dreams he has," Remus said softly.

"He wasn't asleep," Ron said. "He would never fall asleep in this class."

"You're his favorite teacher," Hermione whispered.

"Yes," Remus said quietly. "He tells me so with alarming frequency." He knelt over Harry's prone form, flinching as he realized that Harry's scar had opened up and was bleeding copiously. "Dean, go get Madame Pomfrey, please. Seamus, I believe Professor Keating should be here as well, and Neville, if you would go get the Headmaster. The rest of you, stay put."

Ron got down on the floor next to Remus. "What about his mum?" he whispered as his dorm-mates left the room. "Who's telling her?"

"Nobody," replied Remus quietly. "She's already here, under the Cloak." He smiled sadly and reached down to touch Harry's forehead gently. "She wanted to see what he was like in class."

"Oh," Ron murmured. "Here's hoping this isn't her last chance."

"Right color, right smell, and I won't make you try it, but I'm sure it would work if I did. Very good, Miss Weasley, Mr. Creevy. Five to Gryffindor. Each."

Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevy beamed up at Professor Keating proudly. "Thank you, Professor," they chorused. Keating was much nicer than Professor Snape. Ginny, of course, knew that Keating was really Sirius Black, and he was partial to Gryffindor because he'd been one, but Colin only knew that she didn't poison them and make them drink their antidotes to see if they'd work, and so she was leagues ahead of Snape in his book.

Sirius was just about to move to the next table over when Seamus Finnigan burst into the room. "Professor Keating! Come quick!" he cried, rushing up and grabbing Sirius' hand.

"What's the matter, Seamus?" Sirius asked, worried.

"It's Harry! He collapsed in the middle of Defense and started screamin'!"

Sirius went white, staring at Seamus in horror for a moment, then rushed out of the room. "Dismissed! No homework!" he yelled over his shoulder, and then made a beeline for Remus' classroom.

By the time Sirius got there, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey had already arrived, and the students had been dismissed. "Ah, Professor Keating," Dumbledore said. "Wise of you to send for her, Remus."

"Is Harry going to be all right?" Sirius asked, crossing over to his godson, who was still screaming.

"I think so," Dumbledore said softly. "When whatever is causing this vision stops. He has had them before, albeit never this bad."

"His scar opened," Remus said softly. "It's never done that before." The wound was still bleeding copiously.

"No, it has not. I'm afraid, Remus, that this is no ordinary vision. I believe Harry is witnessing something truly terrible." Dumbledore sighed sadly. "And I am very much afraid that it has something to do with Severus."

Suddenly, with no warning at all, Harry stopped screaming. The adults spun around to face him, Sirius grabbing one of his hands while Lily, still hiding under the Cloak, took the other. "Harry. Harry, are you all right?" Sirius asked softly as Harry's eyes snapped open. His pupils were dilated and his breathing was harsh, but at least his eyes were open. "Harry, say something."

"You will never win, Voldemort," Harry said, his voice low and guttural. "You will never defeat Albus Dumbledore. Never!"

And then he passed out.