After people realized that Umbridge hadn't appeared back in her office for nearly a week, the whispers started.

A few people thought that Percy had somehow kidnapped her- Percy had snorted at that. Even a couple of suspicious glares were thrown at Harry. The main consensus was that Dumbledore had sacked her. After all, she was a terrible teacher.

The DADA classes were on temporary hiatus. Homework consisted of textbook reading- not like Umbridge was teaching anything more. Harry held his breath, hoping to Merlin that the news wouldn't spread to the Ministry.

Days passed by. A week turned into two weeks turned into...

They came.

The Great Hall doors slammed open. Heads turned around, eyes widened, and even Ron dropped his bacon on the ground.

"What's going on?" Hermione muttered.

Two grown men ran into Hogwarts with their wands out, followed by Fudge with a triumphant expression on his pudgy face, who was then followed by another wizard. Another younger wizard with red hair.

Percy Weasley.

Harry's heart dropped. Percy still had the signature freckles dotting his face, but coldness replaced the kindness in his eyes. For a second, both of their eyes met before Percy Weasley turned away like he had never seen Harry before.

"Why is Percy here?" Ron said. "Is that Fudge?"

"I'm over here," Percy said. "And they don't serve fudge at breakfast. Are you okay?"

"Not you, Percy, the other Percy…" Ron spluttered. "And it's the Minister, for Merlin's… Oh, forget it," he said when Percy just looked bewildered. He turned back to Harry. "But why is he with the Aurors? He isn't trying to go after…" he trailed off. "Oh, that moron."

Hermione's face was grim. "They're actually after Dumbledore?"

Harry didn't respond. He didn't need to. The wizards were already marching towards the staircase towards Dumbledore's office. But before he could stand up, someone else moved first.

"What is the meaning of such- such insolence?" McGonagall demanded. She strode to the stairs to block the paths of the four wizards.

"Out of the way, Minerva," Fudge said, his face flushed red. He brandished his wand under her unimpressed gaze. "We're investigating Dumbledore."

"Nonsense."

One of the wizards behind him shifted. "Minerva, if you do not move, we will be forced to make you," he said.

Harry nearly jerked up, but Hermione's hand on his shoulder kept him in his seat. But he wasn't alone- all the professors behind the staff table roared in protest. Flitwick hopped on his chair and waved a fist in the air, a furious expression on his usually calm face. Sprout had stood up as well, crossing her arms together.

McGonagall did not move. "You will not intimidate me under this building." Her eyes flashed as she stared at the wizard. "Dawlish… threatening an old professor?"

Dawlish looked uncomfortable. He glanced towards Fudge, but when he got no reaction, he turned back to Professor McGonagall with a grimace. "We need you to move," he repeated, waving his wand in the air.

McGonagall drew out her wand with a quick flick of her wrist. "I will not. You have no proof, no documents. Come back after you have the proper papers."

The entire Great Hall held its breath, watching as both of them lowered their wands against each other.

Another Auror- Kingsley Shacklebolt, Harry realized with a start, the wizard who had been in Grimmauld Place in the summer- had begun muttering something to Fudge. Fudge didn't seem to listen, sweeping away his words like they were flies dancing around his face.

"Get her out of the way," Fudge hissed. His face was turning a horrid shade of purple, the same shade of purple that Dumbledore's dress cloak was during the Yule Ball. It made him look strangely like a large, overweight grape.

It would have been amusing, if not for the two wands now pointing at McGonagall. But instead of backing down, McGonagall just calmly stood there, eyes narrowed like she was still trying to scold a particularly stubborn student.

"No sense of honor," she bit out. "Breaking into a school during the middle of a school day. You should be ashamed of yourself, Minister."

Fudge's face purpled even more. He jabbed his wand under McGonagall's face. "Ashamed? We're arresting a dangerous wizard-"

McGonagall held up her wand, her face still filled with disdain as she stared down at Fudge… Shacklebolt was now pulling out his wand, and Harry could see the alarm in his eyes from tables away…

Snape rose from his seat.

"Minerva." His voice carried across the empty hall, as emotionless as ever.

McGonagall glanced back at him, mouth drawn in a thin line. They stared at each other for a few moments. Then, she sighed and took a step back, lowering her wand.

"You won't get him," she said grimly, staring at the Aurors through her spectacles.

Fudge ignored her, gesturing the rest of the Aurors to follow him up the staircase. Percy eagerly followed them with his quill and notepad in his arms. Only Shacklebolt looked back apologetically before running up the stairs.

Professor McGonagall stiffly returned to her seat, joining the rest of the quiet Great Hall. Eyes were nervously flickering to each other throughout the four tables, but no one dared to make a sound.

Suddenly, there was shouting. Fudge had raised his voice. Harry strained to catch a hint of Dumbledore's calm voice, but there was nothing- no sign that anyone else was in the office beside the currently screaming Fudge. He could almost imagine the scene, where Dumbledore just silently sat there, twiddling his fingers while Fudge shouted himself hoarse.

Honestly, he wouldn't be too surprised if that wasn't far off with what was happening. But as soon as Harry managed to relax-

The voices disappeared, leaving nothing but the thumping of Harry's heart in his chest.

"Did they catch Dumbledore?" Ron turned to Harry, sounding alarmed.

Before he could respond, a loud BANG sounded, echoing through the hallways. Then, sounds of scuffling, people yelling, throwing things around… but there was no sound of Dumbledore in any of the chaos.

Was he just supposed to listen?

Hermione's grip snaked around Harry's arm as if she was afraid that he would go tearing upstairs. "Don't. Do. Anything. Stupid," she hissed.

"Dumbledore can handle himself," Percy agreed, eying the staircase warily.

A sudden flare of frustration reared its head inside of Harry, like the familiar feeling of an unwanted neighbor coming back. "Like how he handled Umbridge running around?" he snapped, pulling his arm away from Hermione.

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the anger left him, disintegrated into tiny tongues of smoke. Only the feeling of guilt was left, a pile of ashes left behind by the sudden, poisonous flare of anger.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Both Ron and Hermione were staring at him with incredulous eyes. "Dunno what came over me."

His scar was stinging again. He almost brought up his hand again to rub his scar, but caught himself, and forced his hand back down.

Percy was staring at him uneasily. But when Harry caught his eye, he turned away, grabbing one of the blueberry muffins from the center of the table. "Must have been a trick of the light," he mumbled to himself so quietly that Harry almost didn't catch his words.

A trick of the light?

He couldn't bring himself to ask Percy what he meant. He wasn't even sure that he wanted to know why Percy was now avoiding his gaze, so similar to how Dumbledore never met him in the eyes anymore.

He turned back to the staircase, feeling strangely alone.

A couple of minutes later, dark shapes floated gently to the bottom of the steps without making a sound. All of the Aurors were fast asleep, breathing peacefully… all except Fudge, who was snoring.

"Fudge snores as loud as you," Percy whispered to Ron.

Ron made a face. But before he could respond, a brilliant light filled with reds and oranges drowned the staircase, suspiciously similar to Fawkes's light. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick exchanged a look with each other before racing upstairs.

It was no use. Even before they returned downstairs empty-handed, Harry knew that Dumbledore had left. The four wizards soon woke up without a scratch, and the silence that had fallen on the Great Hall cracked into pieces as everyone began muttering to each other.

He left you. A voice cackled in Harry's mind. Left you to deal with the entire scorn of the school, left you at the mercy of the Ministry, left you to face Voldemort alone.

Alone.

Always doing everything by yourself, trying to hold up everything on your back…

Hermione leaned closer to him, breaking Harry out of his thoughts. "I don't think they're following the proper procedure."

Harry shook away his thoughts. "Proper procedure?"

"To arrest Umbridge!" Hermione said impatiently. "You need a formal document to investigate a person. I suppose that makes sense. Umbridge isn't formally registered as a witch."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "How do you know?"

She flushed. "I was curious after your- er encounter with Umbridge," she admitted. "Decided to do some fun reading and searched her up on the Ministry of Magic registry… the same book where Animagi are registered. She appeared very recently, and there's no formal record of her anywhere. I suppose Fudge was a bit lax when hiring, but now they can't prove she existed."

"You read magical registries for fun?" Ron sounded horrified.

Hermione ignored him. "I'm more curious about how Dumbledore escaped," she said, twisting to stare at the four wizards now sitting at the staff table. Someone must have transfigured four more chairs because the new visitors were all cluttered up at the corner of the table. None of the teachers moved to give them more room, which was the reason why Shacklebolt accidentally elbowed Fudge's face into a bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Couldn't Dumbledore just apparate?" Ron asked.

Hermione sighed. "No one can apparate in or out of Hogwarts… Ron, I've told you this before. Maybe a portkey?"

"A portkey wouldn't be that bright," Ron countered. "The spell or whatever Dumbledore used lit up the whole staircase."

"You don't know if that was the Aurors attacking-"

Harry traded a look with Percy while Ron and Hermione kept bickering. They had both seen Dumbledore flash into existence with Fawkes, so Harry wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore had managed to do the same thing again.

He looked back at the staff table. It seemed like Professor McGonagall was arguing with Fudge. Fudge's face had turned a bright red as Professor McGonagall was frowning down at him with her signature, stern expression.

Would anything happen to the Headmaster position now that Dumbledore had left? The thought made Harry inwardly grimace. Even if Dumbledore had been quiet the whole year, him just not being available at all somehow made everything ten times worse. What if the next Headmaster was a minion of Voldemort's? If Barty Crouch Jr. could prance around acting as one of the most well-respected Aurors around, then anything was possible.

The hollow feeling grew inside of Harry's chest. There would be no more backups, no more Dumbledore that would support him if Voldemort came to Hogwarts.

He had never felt so small, so alone, amid the glimmering torches and soft conversation of the Great Hall.

"What do you suppose is going to happen?" Harry asked, accidentally cutting off Hermione. She had still been listing all the possible escape methods Dumbledore could have used… Harry had stopped listening, but he had sworn she mentioned something about transfiguring himself into a chair at one point.

"Thank Merlin," Ron mouthed to Harry when Hermione stopped and blinked.

"Oh, erm- I suppose the Ministry would still want some control over Hogwarts. Maybe another person who would oversee everything?" Hermione said unsurely.

"There better not be any more Umbridges at the Ministry," Percy muttered.

Ron nodded fervently. "I'd rather have a vampire than Umbridge as a teacher. And vampires are nasty. Bill told me that they have a black-market to sell blood."

Hermione snorted, although Harry noticed that she didn't deny Ron's claim. "If Dumbledore's gone, Professor McGonagall would be Headmistress," she mused. "They'll shove a Ministry inspector here for good measure- Harry, what is that?"

There was a pause. Harry glanced back at her, arm awkwardly stretched out across the table. He had been reaching for the bread-basket when she had frozen. He followed her gaze to the back of his hand, where the words were neatly carved.

That went his plan to keep things low.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Ron hissed, staring at Harry's hand as well.

Harry shoved his hand back under the table.

After the meeting with Percy and Dumbledore, he had only given Ron and Hermione the brief run-over- that Umbridge was just a batty ghost and that the Ministry was corrupted. He hadn't mentioned the blood quills… It just seemed silly in comparison. He had also abandoned the weakened Disillusionment charm this morning. There was no point in hiding the scars when Umbridge was gone… but he had forgotten that he hadn't told Ron and Hermione yet.

Trying to shrug off their gazes, he mumbled, "Was just a blood quill."

"Umbridge?" Hermione whispered. Her eyes were wide when she looked at Harry. He resisted the urge to squirm lower in his seat. "Is that how she existed as a mirage? Harry, you never told us about the blood quill-"

"I told you," Harry said defensively.

"I didn't know you had scars," Hermione nearly shrieked. A few curious heads turned over to their table, but they lost interest and resumed staring at the chaos at the head table. Shacklebolt had knocked over the jam jar all over Fudge.

"They're not supposed to leave a mark though," Ron said, looking uneasy. "Bill uses them when he negotiates with goblins… they're used to sign a magical contract. Something about magic being identifiable through blood."

Something in Percy's face tightened. "Wait. What? It doesn't scar when you use it once?"

Ron shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it. I used it a couple of times in Gringotts to confirm erm… blood stuff." He looked apologetically at Hermione, who had crossed her arms with an annoyed huff.

Percy whirled around to face Harry. "How many times did you use the quill?"

Harry's eyes snapped to Percy's. They were strangely blank, an expanse of sea-green that was smooth as a mirror. Neither of them had mentioned the scars when they had left Dumbledore's office a couple of weeks ago.

"The entire detention," he mumbled, tearing his gaze away from Percy's.

"You used it for every detention? As in, months of hours of detentions?" Percy's voice was sharp, almost accusing.

Harry could feel his hackles rising. He frowned at Percy. "It wasn't a big deal."

"You've been carving words on the back of your hand every day, and you didn't bother to mention it to any of us when it happened?"

"What else did I mean by "lines"?" Harry asked dryly.

Something behind Percy's eyes flared before he reigned it back in. "I thought it was permanent after you used it a few times. Not using it for hours… gods, I thought she made you do regular lines after..."

"If I complained, it wouldn't have done anything," Harry snapped. "The Ministry wasn't going to do anything to her. Complaining would just give Umbridge the satisfaction that I was bothered enough to whine about it." From the corner of his eye, he could see that both Ron and Hermione had frozen.

Percy rubbed his forehead. "I'm more concerned that you didn't tell us that you were in trouble," he emphasized the last words with a louder voice. "I don't care that you had to prove yourself to Umbridge or whatever."

Proving himself to Umbridge? Harry couldn't care less about what Umbridge thought of him.

"It wasn't a big deal. I'm alive. It's just a scar-"

A heavy thump sounded from across the table, followed by a loud yelp. Harry whirled around to see an entire jug of pumpkin juice that had tipped over a few seats down. Dean had somehow managed to jump out of the way just in time, staring at the orange liquid dripping to the ground.

"It- it just fell," Dean stammered, as Professor Flitwick was hurrying over, his wand in the air. "I swear, I wasn't even close to touching it-"

Percy stood up. His knuckles were very white. "I'm going to the lake."

Before Harry could say anything, Percy left the table, ignoring the trail of eyes that were on him. Harry's heart dropped to his stomach as he watched the end of Percy's cloak disappear around the corner.

Harry hadn't thought that Percy would get so angry... It was just a bloody scar. It wasn't like he was new to permanent scars anyways, thanks Voldemort-

"Harry?" Hermione asked cautiously.

Harry didn't turn around. He didn't want to see her look of disappointment, didn't want to see Ron staring at him mournfully like he had stolen Ron's bacon. "Going to yell at me as well?"

"No." Her voice was gentle. On the other side, Ron laid a tentative arm across his shoulder.

Harry didn't move. Instead, he focused on the intricate gold swirls on his plate in front of him.

"Percy's right, though. You should have told us earlier. We would have helped as much as possible," Hermione said.

"It just felt… I dunno. Kind of stupid, I guess," he said gruffly. "Since everyone else had to do lines as well-"

Ron shifted in his seat. "George told me that she made them use the Blood Quill a few times. It wasn't for hours."

"We wouldn't judge anyway if you weren't the only one to get scars, and you were the only one to speak up," Hermione added. "I could have given you Murtlap Essence... it wouldn't have scarred as badly-"

"I know," Harry muttered. "I thought that I could-"

"-do it by yourself," Hermione finished.

"Which is bloody stupid," Ron said. He hit Harry on the head lightly. "We're your best mates… don't leave us out of the fun."

"Ron," Hermione hissed.

Harry snorted, trying to ignore the mixed feelings swelling inside of him. "I- I don't understand why Percy got so mad," he said. He looked down to stare at the scar that was gleaming white on his clenched hand and suddenly felt small. He hadn't meant to make Percy storm out of the Great Hall.

Hermione hesitated. "He felt hurt that you were hiding secrets from him," she reasoned. "I know if he didn't speak up first, I would have been angrier with you."

Ron shrugged, adding another treacle tart to his plate, then added one to Harry's dish. "It's odd that he would care. He's such a private bloke."

Hermione patted Harry on the shoulder. "Ron's right… I don't think he'll stay mad at you. You should try talking to him later tonight."

Both of them had genuine expressions of concern. Harry's heart warmed. "I don't know what I'll do without you guys," he said honestly.

"Starve to death," Ron said, dropping a second treacle tart onto Harry's plate.

"Ron!"

"You know that's true, Hermione- oy woman, stop hitting me!"

Just to help his worsening mood, Herbology was terrible.

A Fanged Germanium had taken a chunk out of his textbook, and Professor Sprout had to lend him a new one. He was utterly exhausted. Trying to pull fangs from a Fanged Germanium had been a nightmare. If it weren't for Neville's help, he would have lost a few fingers.

After class, Harry was trying to stuff the textbook in his already bulging bookbag when a person bumped into him. As expected, the book tumbled out of his hands.

Great.

"Watch it," he snapped.

"I'm so sorry!" a familiar voice blurted out. "I wasn't looking where I was going- Harry?"

Harry looked up and froze. Percy's green-eyes were staring back at him.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," Harry blurted out the same time Percy did. Harry shook his head when Percy tried to protest. He looked back down at the ground. "I swear, I thought it wasn't such a big deal."

Percy's voice was soft. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad."

"It's just... secrets." Harry dragged a hand across his face. "I should have realized that you would have been bothered by this one-"

Percy cut him off. "Bothered by the secrets?"

Harry glanced back up. Percy was staring at the window. Evening was arriving earlier than usual, matching the rapidly cooling temperature outside. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Percy turned back to Harry and offered a tentative grin. "Harry, I'm the most close-mouthed guy here… it doesn't matter that you have secrets. Everyone's got to have some, or I'd question their sanity."

Harry blinked. "Hermione told me that you were mad because I kept stuff from you."

Percy gave a half-shrug. "I could see how she could have thought that. But that wasn't why I kind of freaked out back there." His eyes glazed over. Then, he gave a little shake of his head as if he was trying to clear out his thoughts before picking up Harry's Herbology book from the ground. He gestured towards the hall. "We should start getting back to the common rooms."

They passed by a few portraits holding afternoon tea. Something must have gone very wrong because Sir Cadogan was slicing through the table with his sword, yelling something about devilry and poison while another witch was screaming back at him.

After they passed that particular portrait- Sir Cadogan was now screaming about rascals and unicorns- Harry blurted out, "Why were you so angry?"

Percy's wince was very noticeable. "It's complicated."

"It's even more complicated when you don't explain," Harry pointed out.

Percy huffed. They began climbing up the stairs, the sound of their footsteps echoing the darkening hall.

"It wasn't the secret part that bothered me," Percy finally said. He avoided the trap-step and continued climbing. "I know you don't like making a big deal out of things, but some things you got to have company at least."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're not a lone wolf. You have friends. You have people who are willing to support you. Don't try to do everything by yourself." Percy sighed, a long, drawn-out sound that lingered in the air. "How in the Hades am I supposed to protect you when you don't even tell us that the evil-toad teacher was carving letters in your skin?"

"Protect me?" Harry repeated, feeling like a parrot.

Percy gave him a small, slightly forced grin. "I'm your bodyguard." He dramatically pretended to swing a sword around.

"Right," Harry said dryly. "Swords are very modern."

"Dumbledore hired me from the medieval times."

"Lessons from Sir Cadogan?"

"The… who now?"

Harry gestured behind him. "The knight in the portrait. He would love to give you pointers on how to fall off your horse."

Percy shrugged. "I already know how to do that. Just refuse to give doughnuts to your horse, and it'll be a one-way journey to the ground."

"Doughnuts?"

Percy's lips twitched. "Long story."

Something was prodding the back of Harry's mind once they climbed the rest of the stairs. Despite Percy's joking tone, his eyes were serious, as if Dumbledore had actually asked Percy to protect Harry.

Harry wished that the fog would disappear from his mind. There had to be some sort of connection that he was missing, something that he had forgotten...

They were about to enter the common room, stopping in front of the Fat Lady. Harry was about to say the password when Percy turned around.

"Could you promise me something?"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin," the Fat Lady mumbled behind them. "Are we going to have another one of these conversations where I just sit here awkwardly listening to you both rant about your life problems?"

Harry grimaced apologetically to the Fat Lady before raising an eyebrow at Percy. "Erm- sure?"

Percy's eyes were pleading. "If something happens, could you come to me?" There was desperation in his voice, a strain that Harry wouldn't have ever noticed months ago. But he spent enough time around Percy to recognize the tense way he held his shoulders.

An image of Umbridge's toady face smiling down at Harry appeared in his mind's eye. "Even if you had no power to do anything?"

If Harry had told him, Percy wouldn't have been able to do anything, forced to observe detention after detention, under the threat of being expelled. Ron's words echoed in Harry's head. Exchange students are easier to be kicked out than other regular students. But despite the warning running through Harry's head, he already guessed what Percy's answer would be.

"Especially if I had no power to do anything," Percy said. "I didn't make so many friends just to throw them away. I didn't come here just to watch more people suffer under someone like Umbridge."

"So, you would sacrifice anything just to save your friends?"

There was no hesitation. "Of course."

Harry paused. Then, he spoke up quietly, "You've met Dobby, right?"

Percy blinked. "Yeah?"

"In my second year, he tried his best to protect me from Malfoy's plans, and his plans would have worked if they had succeeded." The memory of Dobby slamming his head into the floor floated into Harry's head, and he winced.

"Malfoy's plans?" Percy asked.

Harry shrugged, grimacing. "Chamber of Secrets. A lair where Muggleborn students were victims by a basilisk's glare. Salazar Slytherin tried to use it to promote his blood supremacy ideology, and Malfoy's father got somehow mixed up into it. It's a long story," he added on when Percy blinked again.

He swore he heard the Fat Lady grumble behind him, mumbling, "Not another one." Hurriedly, he kept talking. "But in the end, I nearly was expelled from Hogwarts, was missing letters from my friends, lost all the bones in my arm. Dobby had good intentions, but…" he lifted a shoulder. "It just didn't work out. There are some battles where you can't fight for others."

"And you still believe the Umbridge case was a battle that you should have done by yourself?"

"I should have told you guys," Harry admitted. "Ron, Hermione, you… I should have known I wasn't dealing with it alone. But I'm not a glass object. I can stand up for myself against Umbridge when the time is right, and not when the time I get you expelled because you end up provoking her when Dumbledore isn't around."

Percy stared at Harry like he was an alien. "So… what's your point?"

"Do you think we could make a truce on this? I'll tell you stuff, and you let me decide on how to handle everything," he offered.

For a second, Harry wasn't sure Percy was going to respond. But a few moments, Percy nodded. "Sounds like a fair deal," Percy admitted. "I don't like it much, but it's better than not knowing that an ugly toad lady gave you that scar."

Someone sighed. Both Harry and Percy whirled around to see the Fat Lady folding her arms together, looking like she didn't know whether to be cross or amused. "This is sweet, but are you boys coming inside or not?"

Potions was the worst place to fall asleep.

Despite Snape's daily threats to go back to individual work, they were still working in groups. Harry supposed it had to do with the drastically lower count of random explosions and flammable potions.

Poor Neville's potions were still a mess though-this time, he could see the poisonous fumes rising from the sickly yellow potion he was stirring with Nott, but Nott had given up working with Neville and was now trying out his own potion.

On the other hand, it was the first time that Harry had seen Ron so happy during potions class. He could see Ron and Hermione still bickering across the dungeons, but they looked strangely cheerful despite the obvious jabs they were throwing at each other.

He was still working with Percy. They had settled into a pattern where Harry would read the board and gather the ingredients while Percy stirred. Percy was strangely intuitive at realizing when a potion was being overheated or over-stirred, almost as if he had some sort of odd connection to each potion.

Harry wasn't complaining. His grades had started slipping these past few days, and he could barely tell the difference between bowtruckle and an actual stick. Professor Grubbly-Planks wasn't too happy when he had spent the whole class studying a lifeless stick instead of the bowtruckles she had been handing out.

It wasn't like he hadn't been trying. He just couldn't focus on the fog that seemed to wrap around his brain. For the past few nights, he had been staring at the ceiling, afraid to fall asleep, fearing the flashes of green and the screaming that would echo in his dreams.

In summary, he was dangerously sleep-deprived.

He stared blearily at the front of the room. Snape did look like a large bat.

"You still here with me?" Percy's concerned eyes swam into view. Harry had to blink to register his face- Merlin, he was so tired. The steam that was piling in the room wasn't helping either.

When Percy was sure he had gotten Harry's attention, he waved a hand at the potion. "I'm pretty sure we need some other ingredient in a minute or so," Percy said. The solution they were working on had turned a rather pretty light blue.

Harry squinted at his textbook. Strengthening Potion… light blue… powdered griffin claws… there it was. He handed over a bowl to Percy.

"Should be powdered griffin claws," Harry mumbled, rubbing his forehead. Another spike of pain had flashed across his forehead.

Harry could feel Percy hesitate. "I think this is pomegranate juice. Harry, are you sure your eyes are alright?"

Harry didn't bother responding. He shoved another bowl at Percy.

"And… that's salamander blood. We used that a couple of minutes ago."

Harry sighed, placing the bowl back on the table. "I'm pretty sure I ground all the ingredients beforehand. It should be on the table somewhere."

He heard Percy rummaging around. Then, he popped up, sounding triumphant. "Found it."

Harry stifled a yawn. "Thanks. That's the last bit."

He watched Percy tip over the powder from the stone bowl into the cauldron. Once the remaining white dust entered the potion, Harry rested his chin on his arms and stared into the flickering fire dancing under the bubbling cauldron.

In the faint distance, he could hear Percy mumbling something about waiting a few minutes to let the potion settle, but the room was already fading from his blurring vision- was his eyes still open? He blinked, but his eyelids seemed to fuse… He didn't even remember closing his eyes…

He was sitting next to Cho during the Yule Ball. The air was glittering with strange baubles that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight… it was snowing outside, but he wasn't sure why. He looked back at Cho, who had been beaming at him, but she wasn't there anymore. Instead, it was Ginny, who just smirked.

She stood up, red hair waving in the snowy breeze. "Care for a dance?"

He was about to take her hand when something on the table flashed and caught his eye- one of the gold goblets on the table. This one seemed bigger than the others… then there was a random scream in the air as a sword appeared and fell on the cup.

Ginny's hand disappeared from his grip. He whirled around, trying to see where she went, but there was a bauble that rolled across the ground… then the chandeliers above him shattered, coating the world in a glass rain.

He dove under the table. Cho was there, weeping. He crawled towards her, holding out his hand…

"YOU KILLED HIM," Cho shrieked, raising her head. Her eyes were watery, but her vicious glare made him stop in his tracks. Black hair whipped around her face as if a wind had somehow picked up…

But she wasn't Cho anymore. The hatred in her eyes had deepened… they were still a dark brown, but her hair was no longer black. A thin smile cut across her face as she studied Harry. He snatched back his hand, and scrambled backward… he was no longer under the table but among the vast shelves of silvery balls that lined the shelves.

"This is your destiny," the woman said. She gestured to the silver balls lining the shelves. "And how ironic… it's nestled in the walls of the Ministry."

Harry laughed, a sharp, high pitched sound that echoed throughout the room. He wrapped his long white fingers around his wand. There was a figure on the ground, beneath his feet… his loyal snake was curling around his prone, shaking body, fangs glinting from the mysterious glow emitting from the shelves.

A cruel smile wrapped around his lips as he watched the lump on the ground shiver. With a flick of his wrist, he pointed his wand downwards.

"Crucio."

The shrieks began, almost like music to his ears. He reveled in the power, the control, the way the person twisted on the ground in agony. After a minute, he lifted his wand and coldly watched the man collapse back on the ground.

"Bellatrix should be delighted to see you."

The person on the ground raised his head. His face was strangely familiar… long black hair that curled around his face, eyes the color of grey stone. "The crazy git's in Azkaban," he growled, teeth bared in a dog-like manner.

Harry ignored the person. "There is not enough blood," he said softly, nudging the person's body with a foot.

"You're twisted," the other person spat weakly.

Harry just smiled, feeling his mouth curl up unnaturally. "Come here, my dear Nagini." The words slithered around his mouth, coming out in a smooth hiss. The snake stopped sliding around the person.

"He is all yours."

The snake rose, scales glimmering in the air… and then suddenly, he was the snake, the cool ground underneath his body. He could smell the fear coming from the warm, trembling prey in front of him.

All he wanted to do was bite him, feel his fangs sink into his warm flesh, feel the blood dripping out onto the ground… He rose… The man underneath him desperately tried to scramble backward, but he darted forwards and felt his fangs sink into the warm, wet flesh…

There was so much red. The man was screaming in agony in such a familiar voice...

A massive bang threw him back into his own body.

Harry jolted up, still feeling the phantom pool of blood seep into his skin. There was a snake… no, he had been the snake… He had bitten someone with grey eyes and black hair-

Snape's hand was on the stone table in front of him. Percy was protesting behind him. "-but we already finished making the potion, Harry can do whatever he wants to do-"

"Jackson. Be silent."

"-he fell asleep after the griffin claws were in… there's no use in staying awake after-"

Grey eyes, black hair… A surge of overwhelming fear engulfed Harry, swallowed him whole like he had wandered into the gaping maw of the Hungarian Horntail. He interrupted Percy. "He has him, Professor- I saw him... someone has to get him-"

His palms were cold and clammy. He tried to steady them against the table, then realized that he was still shaking. In the corner of his eye, he could see Percy stiffen, falling silent. He stared up at Snape's cold eyes, which were staring down at him emotionlessly.

"Padfoot- I saw him with Voldemort, he was bitten by this giant snake-"

Something in Snape's eyes flickered. His eyes darted around the room… with a start, Harry realized that everyone else had stopped what they were doing and were staring at him with open mouths.

"Potter. Go to Madam Pomphrey. Now."

Harry nearly hissed. Didn't Snape understand? He was- Sirius was bleeding out to death somewhere, the snake might have been poisonous… he needed medical help right now- "But he was bitten, someone has to get him-"

Snape cut him off. "Don't make me repeat myself. Stay in the infirmary."

There was a warning in his eyes, but Harry couldn't bring himself to care… he stumbled to his feet and lurched outside the classroom, stumbling past Malfoy's white face… why was Malfoy next to Neville anyways?

He couldn't bring himself to care about Malfoy. Instead, he tried to calm his beating heart as he left the classroom… There had been so much blood around Sirius, a pool of red that seeped from his clothes.

He nearly collapsed against the wall, but with a surge of effort, he started staggered towards McGonagall's office. There had to be someone who could do something. Somehow, he managed to find himself in front of her office without falling to his knees. He banged on the oak wood with a fist. When McGonagall opened the door, he was still trembling.

"Who's making that noise-" she began before her sharp gaze fell on Harry. She blinked. "Potter, what are you doing here-"

"It's- it's Padfoot. I saw Voldemort get him- there was this massive snake, and he's injured Professor-" Harry stopped when he saw another face poke out of the door. With a sinking heart, he realized it was Dawlish… one of the Aurors who had tried to apprehend Dumbledore.

McGonagall caught his gaze. Her mouth thinned into a grim line. "Dawlish is here to update me about certain events going on in Azkaban… Potter, perhaps another time would be better-"

"Did Bellatrix Lestrange break out of Azkaban?" Harry interrupted her.

McGonagall froze. Her spectacles had slid down her nose, but she ignored them, staring at Harry with incredulity. "How- how in the world could you know, Potter?"

"It wasn't just her, it was all of the Death Eaters," Dawlish gruffly said from next to her. "Ten of them… Dolohov, Lestrange, Rookwood…"

Harry had stopped listening to him. The panic in his chest had subsided, leaving a cold trace of blankness that spread across him. "I'll- I'll be back later," he stammered, backing away from the door. McGonagall was still staring at him like she couldn't make heads or tails from what he was saying.

Before Dawlish could say anything else, he turned around and walked as quickly as possible down the hall, rubbing his forehead. If no one was going to get Sirius, he would get there himself… but the question was, how?

He ran into Ginny, who stumbled backward. It looked like she had been in the middle of a conversation with Luna. "The hallway isn't for knocking into people," Ginny hissed. Then her eyes widened. "Harry?"

Harry muttered an apology. He tried to edge his way past them, but she blocked his path, arms crossed around her chest. "You look awful."

Harry snorted. "Thanks. Now can you please get out of the way?"

Ginny's eyes flashed indignantly. She didn't move.

"That's awfully rude of you," Luna said serenely. Her radish earrings were swinging from her ears as she tilted her head at Harry. "You seem troubled."

"I would be less rude if there wasn't someone dying."

"Dying?" Ginny asked.

From across the hall, Harry could spot Percy rounding the corner, followed by a panting Ron and Hermione. Even Neville was trailing behind them, his round face red and sweaty.

"Did something happen to Si-Padfoot?" Hermione asked, panting. Her hair was bushier than usual, wayward strands poking out everywhere.

She bent down to catch her breath as Ron worriedly eyed Harry. "We heard from Percy that-"

Harry nodded, cutting him off. "He's bleeding out," he said. "Voldemort has him- it's in the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters are coming soon and they'll-"

"Woah, woah." Percy held out two hands. "Breathe. What's going on?"

"I'm not going to breathe," Harry snapped. "Voldemort has Sirius, and he got bitten by this massive snake… I was the snake, and it's real, Voldemort said that Bellatrix was going to be there-"

Neville gave a little shudder. There was a sort of harsh flicker of fear mixed with hatred that glinted in his eyes. "Bellatrix Lestrange escaped?"

Harry nodded, glancing at all of them. "We have to get there. He's bleeding badly-"

"Harry- think about it," Hermione interrupted him. She was biting her lip. "Why would Voldemort be in the middle of the Ministry, with Sirius… isn't Sirius supposed to be in Grimmauld Place?"

Harry clenched his fists together… they didn't see the blood that had surrounded Sirius's still body. "He's there," Harry insisted. "You know how stir-crazy Sirius is… maybe he decided to take a walk outside… even Malfoy knew, and his dad is a Death Eater, Hermione stop looking at me like that-"

"It just seems like a dream, Harry," Hermione said, wringing her hands. Her eyes were bright with worry. "You- you never had one of these dreams before, and I don't know, it just seemed so sudden-"

"He had them before," Percy cut her off. He was staring at Harry with narrowed eyes. "You remember… with Dumbledore-"

Harry nodded. "I was Voldemort again- I- I was the snake, I bit Sirius, he was screaming-"

Ron was staring at him, white-faced. "Is this related to your scar?"

"Yes," Harry said. He realized his hand was still pressed against his scar, which was throbbing under his fingers. He dropped his hand and pleadingly stared at Hermione.

"Dumbledore knows about this?" Hermione asked. Something in her gaze wavered. "Well… I suppose then… if it's not just a dream."

"It's not," Harry said firmly. "I tried asking McGonagall for help. Dawlish- the Auror from this morning-" he added when Ron gave him a confused look, "-told her that there was a Death Eater breakout today. It fits with my dream."

Ginny had been looking back and forth, obviously confused, but her eyes were stubborn when she stated, "I'm going."

"No, you're not," Ron and Harry said at the same time.

"I'll help," she insisted. Her arms were still crossed around her chest.

"Me too," Neville echoed from behind her. He was looking oddly defiant, chin held high.

Harry tried not to grab his hair in frustration. The more they stood around to argue, the longer Sirius would be bleeding out on the ground.

"You are both not going-" Harry began to say.

"I suppose I shall help as well," Luna said. "We are talking about Stubby Boardman, right?"

Before Harry could ignore them and just storm outside, Percy turned to him, looking thoughtful. "I think they could help," he pointed out. "We need more people if Sirius is being attacked… remember what I said about working with other people?"

Harry tried not to scowl at the wall. "Fine," he muttered. "Does anyone here know how to get to the Ministry of Magic?"

Surprisingly, it was Luna who spoke up. "I think I know a way," she said softly. She started to walk towards the entrance.

For a moment, Harry hesitated… but he remembered the amber lake gleaming under the setting sun.

There were things she just knew. Maybe this was one of those cases.

He followed her, and the rest of the group trailed behind him.

These past few weeks have been so crazy- met so many super nice people and suffered through a ton of Zoom meetings haha. I'm actually posting this chapter right now in the middle of a Zoom meeting (shh, don't tell anyone), so my multi-tasking skills have been improving! (not really, but I'll just pretend).

I apologize if a couple of scenes are going by really fast; because it's taking the Order of the Phoenix timeline, I definitely didn't want to repeat certain sections of the book that you guys would have probably read. Also, just wanted to let you guys know that only half the year has gone by (versus the end of the school year with canon)- it's heavily implied with the weather and dates of later chapters, but in case you were confused (since canon is diff), it's still before the Christmas break.

Hope you guys are staying safe! Good thing none of you are stuck with crazy toad teachers and noseless creeps. :^)