AN: When I started this, I had no idea where this story was headed. I always put off posting multi-chapter stories until they're finished so that I can adjust the storyline as needed. But this time I decided to throw caution to wind this time and let the plot fall where it may. Thanks in advance for your patience- Fasten your safety belts, clench your buttocks! It's going be a bumpy ride!

Voices of Reason

April 4, 1996

Harry Potter had never enjoyed spending time in the library unless he had to. But today, with everyone packing to go home for Easter, it was one of the most isolated places in the castle, which was just what he and his still aching head needed. Rubbing his temples, he flopped down at a secluded table.

"I hate that I can't shut this connection down," Harry grumbled to himself. "At least I don't have to deal with Snape anymore, but it would be nice to stop feeling like a lunatic, hearing voices and whatnot…"

"It's not about the voices in your head—it's about what you do with them," came a soft voice from around a bookshelf.

Harry stiffened. He'd assumed he was alone – or at least he had been when he came in. Wand drawn and a memory charm halfway to his lips, he stood and crept toward the source of the voice.

"Hello, Harry," it said, behind him this time.

Harry whipped around and then lowered his wand, clasping his chest in relief. "Merlin, Luna, you scared the bloody hell out of me. What are you doing in the library right now? Shouldn't you be packing?"

"I like to use it as my own little oasis, too," she said, running her fingers along the tomes beside her. "And I finished packing already. I do it in the middle of the night. It's easier to make sure nothing disappears that way."

"Your things disappear?" Harry asked darkly. He knew that Luna was a bit of an outcast, but he hadn't expected her dormmates to stoop to full-on bullying.

Luna nodded. "They always find their way back in the end. But I like to think of their disappearance as more of a sign than an inconvenience, kind of like hearing voices. Wouldn't you agree, Harry?"

"Uh, well, it's not voices, per se, you see… I, uh, just have some, uhm, odd dreams sometimes," he hedged, cursing his fat mouth.

"And Professor Snape is teaching you Occlumency to help keep them out," Luna finished.

"No, it's not that, I just—"

"Your secret is safe with me, Harry," Luna assured him. "But it doesn't sound like he's been all that successful in teaching you. Not surprising – his head's always surrounded by nargles, you see."

"Uh, yeah. I would really appreciate you keeping this between us, Luna. It means a lot," Harry said.

She gave him a dreamy smile. "Of course, Harry. But if you want my advice, I'll tell you what my grandmother told me: it's not about the voices in your head—it's about what you do with them. They can save lives, but they can take them as well."

With that, she floated away, and Harry found himself deep in thought. Snape was obviously a crap teacher, at least for Harry. So if there wasn't a way to stop the visions, the least he could do was try to do something smart with them.

But hadn't he done that? He saved Arthur Weasley's life for crying out loud!

By sheer, dumb luck! said a voice in his head that sounded oddly like Minerva McGonagall.

Harry slumped against a bookshelf. That had been luck, and now Voldemort had to be aware of the connection. It wasn't just about glimpsing what Voldemort was doing anymore. If he wasn't careful, Voldemort might be able to manipulate exactly what Harry saw. Talk about a whole new can of Flobberworms.

With a determined stride, Harry marched back to Gryffindor Tower. He'd already joined the physical side of the war; it was time to start on the mental one.

June 18, 1996

"What did you find out?" Ron asked. "Has You-Know-Who got Sirius or–?"

Harry's scar prickled painfully. "Yeah, and Sirius is still alive! But I can't see how—"

Before he could finish that thought, Harry caught Luna's penetrating gaze. He instantly flashed back to the day before Easter holidays and the subtle warning she'd given him about trusting his visions so absolutely. If Harry was being honest with himself, there was still a niggling of doubt in the back of his mind. What if Sirius simply didn't have his mirror on him? What if he was in the kitchen of Number 12? Harry could walk into a trap, all because he didn't take the extra ten minutes to see for himself. Besides, Kreacher wasn't exactly the most helpful elf, and he hated Sirius. He could be lying about everything!

Pain flooded his scar again, jerking him back to reality. "Ugh, never mind. Dumbledore hinted that Voldemort knows about our connection. We've been waiting for him to use it against me, and now that I've had time to think about it, I think it might be happening," Harry ground out, torn between his desire to save Sirius now and the knowledge that he should find out for sure if Sirius was at home. On top of it all, the pain in his scar was becoming unbearable.

"Grimmauld Place is on the way to the Ministry, as the thestral flies," Luna pointed out helpfully. The rest of the teens gaped at her. "What? Without Floo access or the ability to Apparate, it's the only way we'll ever make it." Hermione and Neville looked green at the prospect but, to their credit, didn't argue.

"The Ministry's in London – what if we just popped by Sirius's place on the way?" Ginny suggested.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "It would have been so easy for Kreacher to lie to you through the Floo. If you see him in person, you could interrogate him more thoroughly. We can Floo to the Ministry from there anyway."

One glance at Ron and Neville made it clear – they thought a pit stop at Number 12 was a good idea. Harry nearly sighed with relief; his friends not only understood his doubts but wanted wanted to help ease them, too. He was terrified to leave Sirius in Voldemort's clutches, but if his friends all thought this was a good idea, it was worth pursuing. He was sure Sirius would agree.

It was surprisingly easy to attract a half dozen thestrals, aided by the scent of Grawp's blood on Harry and Hermione's clothes. Just as they began mounting the thestrals, Hedwig fluttered to a landing in the nearest tree.

"You always know when I need you, don't you girl?" Harry muttered, stroking her feathers. "Can you show us how to get to Sirius's place?" She hooted indignantly – of course she could!

The six teens took off into the night, following Hedwig to Grimmauld Place. Harry struggled to stay conscious as the pain in his scar began to swell. As they approached the house from the air, he swore at the tiny front stoop. Just as he was about to redirect everyone, the front step magically expanded to hold everyone, including the thestrals.

As Luna was convincing the skeletal horses to wait for them, Harry burst into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. "Sirius!" he cried, seizing his head. "Where are you?"

First one and then another pair of feet thundered down the stairs. Remus searched frantically for the danger, his eyes wild and his wand brandished like a sword. Sirius, his hair sticking straight out on one side, covered his back. When they finally caught sight of the teens, they relaxed a bit but didn't drop their wands.

"What are you lot doing here at—" Sirius yawned and checked the grandfather clock in the entry. "Merlin, do you know what time it is? Harry, are you alright?"

"How did you get here?" Remus asked curiously.

"We'll explain everything later," Harry snapped, nearly collapsing from both the pain in his head and the relief of seeing Sirius so… utterly well and himself. "I just had to make sure you were okay."

At their confused looks, Hermione explained, "We were afraid this was going to turn into a rescue mission. Harry had another vision, this time about Voldemort torturing you at the Ministry in the Hall of Prophecies. Harry was skeptical about whether or not what he heard and saw was real, since we know that V-V-Voldemort knows about the connection and that he's after a prophecy. But Dumbledore isn't at Hogwarts, McGonagall got sent to St. Mungo's, and we didn't know who to trust. So we decided that we'd go after you ourselves, if you weren't here of course. But you are, so…" she trailed off as she met Sirius's now thunderous gaze.

"Sitting room, now," he said tersely, jabbing his wand toward the stairs. "Kreacher, bring Harry a pain potion."

The six teens trudged upstairs, putting on their best "well-chastised" faces. When they were lined up on the sofas, Sirius released his fury.

"What in Merlin's name made you think it would be a good idea for you to haul off to the Ministry, straight into what is likely a trap and a direct confrontation with Voldemort?" Sirius bellowed.

"Sirius, look at it from—" Remus started.

"Don't interrupt me while I'm trying to be angry, Remus," he growled. "These kids nearly got themselves killed going off on some kind of half-cocked rescue mission!"

"No, they didn't," Remus replied, placing a firm hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Weren't you listening? Or did you hear 'rescue mission' and 'Voldemort' and then nothing else?"

Sirius deflated a bit and perched on an overstuffed chair. "Fine. Let's hear the full of it, kids. And I mean all of it, even the parts of the plan you didn't have to use."

By the time the teens had finished their story, Sirius had called Kreacher for drinks all around.

"Bloody hell," Remus muttered, draining his glass of firewhiskey.

"Merlin's saggy underpants," Sirius echoed, slumping into his chair, an empty tumbler hanging from his fingertips. "I understand why you were going to rush off and save me, I really do, and I appreciate the thought. But please, never, and I mean never put yourselves in danger like that for me, okay? Do you hear me?" he asked, staring hard at each of the six teens in turn.

They each nodded obediently, except for Harry.

"I can't make that promise," Harry objected. "You're the only family I've got left, and if you're in trouble, I'm coming to get you."

"I'm not the only family you have left," Sirius argued. "Look around you. These people are every bit as much your family as I am. But you – you and Remus are the only family I have left, and I swore to your parents I would keep you safe. I haven't exactly done a bang-up job of it so far, but, Merlin help me, I'm going to start now."

Harry looked at the friends to his left and right. They'd dropped everything to come on a suicide mission to rescue a man they'd either never met or barely knew, just because Harry asked them to. Hermione squeezed his hand and gave him a soft smile. Yes, these people had become his family; he'd just been too blind to see it.

Well, finally – have a biscuit, Potter, his inner-McGonagall voice snarked.

Harry swallowed the knot in his throat. "You're right. But let's try to prevent any of us from needing to keep that promise, shall we?"

Sirius grinned. "Sounds good, pup. Now, let's—"

Everyone froze as Harry clutched his scar, seized with pain, and fell unconscious on the sitting room floor.

Luna, her eyes wide with fear, whispered, "He knows."