Severus sighed as he watched Harry walk tiredly into his guest room and close the door behind him. The boy had just finished the small meal the house-elves had brought him, and upon seeing his continuous yawns, Severus had suggested the boy take some shut-eye. Harry had seemed too tired and withdrawn to argue. Damn it, what had the goddamn werewolf ask him to cause him to behave that way?

After pacing around his quarters until the floor started to wear out, Severus finally decided to leave thinking for later, after Harry wakes up. He had just settled down on his couch with a book and a cup of Firewhiskey when a knocking on his door disturbed his thoughts. With a snarl, he opened the door to find himself face to face with one Remus Lupin.

"Severus, how----"

"What the hell did you do?"

Remus backed away slightly as the Potions Master growled at him. "Severus, what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm asking! What the hell did you do to Harry to make him react that way?"

“I didn’t do anything, Severus.” Remus looked at the Potions Master, sincerity in his voice. “You know Harry’s like a son to me --- I would NEVER intentionally harm him.”

Severus took a deep breath, trying to control himself, at the same time, resisting the urge to hex the man into next week. “Well, then what did you ask him to make him react that way?” He aimed a glare and snarled at the werewolf. “You were supposed to HELP him, you idiot!”

“I was trying, but---“ Remus tried to protest, but was immediately cut off.

“HELP? You call that helping? Then why, may I ask, did I find him running down the corridors in tears earlier?”

“I---“ At this, Remus faltered and looked guiltily down. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to continue. "I was talking to him about my... suspicions during our discussion earlier."

Severus was about to answer when a piercing scream erupted from his guestroom.

Without another word, he raced towards small room, Remus at his heels.

Harry sighed as he walked into Severus' spare room, shutting the door tightly behind him. At least Severus hadn't interrogated him when they'd come back to his quarters.

He'd been terrified when Remus had brought up the Dursleys. Somehow, he just knew that Remus had figured out his painful secret. He couldn't help it --- without a second thought, he had rushed down the hallway, trying to escape from the nightmares and the fears.

He yawned. Merlin, he was tired, but he didn't feel like going to sleep. His scar tinged and a hand came up to rub at it irritatingly. He crawled into bed anyways and looked around for something to occupy himself. Anything to keep him from going over the memories of the Dursleys in his mind.

He looked down shamefully as he suddenly realized that he'd been neglecting his pets. He had no idea where Flame was, and Ice and Shadow were probably out hunting. He knew that he could call to the snakes telepathically, but somehow, he felt guilty for ignoring them for so long only to call them back when he needed them. Perhaps some other time, he vowed to himself. He'd make it up to them.

For now...

He sat up suddenly. How could he have forgotten? In the midst of his busy life, he'd completely failed to talk to Lady Lyra. /My Lady/ He called out quietly in his mind.

For a while, there was no response, before a soft voice came through. /Harry, child. It’s been a while./

/Yes, it has./ He smiled slightly. /Lots of things have happened here recently./

/I realized./ As if hearing his look of surprise, she chuckled quietly. /I am not entirely ignorant. However, you must get some rest now. I can tell that you are tired. Go to sleep. I will be here when you awaken./ With that, the soft voice faded from his head.

Harry sighed again. He’d been hoping, in a way, that the Lady would be able to distract him for a while, but apparently, she had been able to sense his fatigue. Maybe he should listen for once. But then again, he wasn’t THAT tired, was he?

He sank down into his pillows and managed to fall asleep before his head hit the pillow.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

A scream erupted from him as Harry suddenly sat up in his bed, his eyes glazed over. Sweat dripped from his brows, his body a disturbingly high temperature.

Severus rushed into the room, but Harry didn’t notice the man. Opening his mouth, he swallowed hard.

“Tell…. Need Dumbledore!”

“Harry,” Severus began. “Whatever you need to tell the Headmaster can wait. Now, just drink this ---“

“No! Tell Dumbledore!” Harry gasped out, his voice hoarse. “Voldemort is going to be attacking Hogwarts sometime within the next two weeks.”

Severus froze for a second before turning to Lupin. “What are you waiting for? Go tell the Headmaster, now!”

Remus shot a concerned look at Harry before nodding. “Take care of him, Severus,” he said before disappearing out the door.

Harry, seeing this, finally relaxed into the bed. Severus summoned several calming potions and muscle relaxants before lifting Harry up and raising the bottles to the boy’s lips.

Harry obediently drank the potions, grimacing slightly at the taste.

A few minutes later, the fire turned a bright green, and Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room. For once, the old man seemed very worried, and the usual twinkle was missing from his eyes.

“Professor!” Harry sat up quickly, ignoring his sore throat.

“How are you feeling, my boy?”

“I’m fine, Professor. But Voldemort --- he’s going to attack Hogwarts within the next two weeks. I think he has a plan to bring down the wards.”

“What else did you say, Harry? I know you’re tired, but I need you to tell me everything you remember. If Tom is indeed attacking soon, we need to notify the Order so we can prepare.”

Harry nodded, and the next two hours were spent discussing the small details of Harry’s vision.

When Dumbledore finally left, Harry sank back into bed with a long sigh. He closed his eyes, exhaustion lining his face.

“Harry? Are you alright?” Severus looked worriedly at the boy.

Harry nodded slowly. “I’m okay, Severus. I just need some more sleep.” Yawning, he sank down into his pillow.

Severus couldn’t help but smile. “Alright. Good night, Harry.” He bend down and placed a soft kiss to scarred forehead, tucking in the covers.

There was no reply.

The boy was already asleep.

“It is time.”

“Time?” A light haired female looked up at her sister. “Do you think so, or is this merely another prediction of yours?”

“This time, it is the truth. It is time we revealed all to the boy, for his time shall soon come. He must be prepared of what will come if he were to fail his destiny.”

“Then it is fortunate for you that you have a sister who controls such factors of life.” She smiled.

The other brought out a crystal ball and placed it lightly on the table. “I’m sure you’re wondering what brought this on. In truth, I had a vision yesterday.”

“A vision of Truth? Or of possibility?”

“Of possibility. Of destruction.”

Violet met onyx as eyes pierced each other.

“Then in that case, we must show him.”

DREAM SEQUENCE--------------

He was in a forest. A large forest. The sun was overhead, but the leaves were so thick, the light barely shown through.

Having no choice, he began to walk forward. As he went, the forest seemed to become darker. He keep walking, and walking, and walking.

Suddenly, he heard a growl from behind him. He looked around, but saw nothing. The growl came again, this time, louder and closer. Having no choice, he broke into a run, rushing forward, trying to get away from whatever it was that was chasing him.

He heard twigs snap behind him as the creature too sped up to an inhuman speed. He ran faster, trying to keep away, but he was so tired, so tired…. Terror filled his heart, and a scream built up in his throat, louder and louder…

And then suddenly, he was at a dead end. Realizing that he couldn’t get away any more, he looked back, expecting the monster to jump at him and bring him down. However, he didn’t see what he had thought had been coming. Instead, he saw two females.

They were obviously sisters, yet at the same time, there were absolutely no similarities in their looks. The first female had long blond her, the color of sunshine. Her violet eyes were filled with fire as they gazed at him. Her robes had a similar style to those of the founders.

Her sister, on the other hand, contrasted greatly. Dark hair streamed down her back as midnight black eyes took in his appearance. Silver wings seemed to gleam in the darkness.

“Harry Potter.”

It was the second one who spoke. Her voice was soft, almost like the wind rippling across the calm waters. There was a melodious quality to it, yet at the same time, a sense of eerie silence.

There was something surreal about this entire thing. The women looked almost too perfect, their appearance too beautiful to be true. This reminded him almost uncannily like a book he’d once read about the Greek mythology of bird-like females called the Sirens.

He knew that he should be frightened, that he should be running away from these two ghostly figures. But for some reason that even he himself did not know, he felt calm. A sense of tranquility swept through him, and he felt like he was floating.

“Who are you?”

His voice came out as a whisper.

“That, you need not know. All you must understand is that we are here to show you a vision.”

“A vision?”

The first sister nodded. “You are lucky, for it is not of truth, but of probability.”

Harry didn’t understand what she meant. He was just about to ask when the dark haired sister pulled out a crystal ball from the depth of her robes. Lifting it so that it was level with his vision, she blew softly.

A gust of wind swept over the ball, and a vague image appeared.

“Come closer,” she said, her voice soft yet commanding. Harry felt compelled to obey. Almost as though under a trance, he stepped forward, closer to eth ball.

Then suddenly, a violent wind swept through the air, pulling him in. He struggled, trying to keep from falling forward, but failed.

The next thing he knew, he was IN the ball itself.

He was in a world of darkness. ---- A world in which the sun never rose, and the moon never shone. Looking around, he gasped as he suddenly realized where he was. He was standing on Hogwarts group, in front of the Lake, but everything had changed.

The Lake, once a beautiful crystal blue, now turned deep crimson. An eerie silence was in the air. Where once was the occasional splashing of the giant squid of the calling of a centaur, now, there was nothing. The sky was a deep angry gray, casting the land below in darkness.

Slowly, slowly, he turned around to look at the school itself, almost afraid of what he would see.

What he did see, however, shocked him to the core. And at the same moment, he realized just why the lake had been red.

Bodies littered the group, pools of blood running into a river. Friend and foe alike lay on the ground: Draco Malfoy, Cho Chang, Bellatrix Lestrange, and… Ron… Ginny… The list went on and on until Harry had to look away.

But what horrified him the most was what he saw when he looked up --- or rather, what he didn’t see. Where Hogwarts had once stood, there was now nothing. The school had come down in ruins.

He felt as though he had been punched in the gut. All his life, eh had believe the school to be an anchor in his life: something stable and undefeatable. To realize that his assumption had been false…

“No…” he whispered… “Nononono…”

Not wanting to see any more, he closed his eyes, falling to his knees in defeat. “Take me back… please… TAKE ME BACK!” His voice was the only living thing in this world of death, but he felt dead inside.

And then all at once, he felt the wind gather up around him, pulling him backwards. Opening his eyes, he sighed in relief when he realized that he was back in the forest. His dull eyes took in the pair of sisters again. “Why? Why did you have to show me that?”

“To make you understand.” The female’s voice no longer sounded beautiful as it had before. “You needed to know the full significance of this upcoming war. If you fail to defeat this darkness, then both worlds shall fall --- Muggle and Wizard alike.”

For a moment, he just looked at the women blankly, feeling numb. His brain wasn’t absorbing the words, and the fact that such a possibility existed was too terrifying to consider… but now that he knew such a thing existed, was possible, he was more determined than ever to save his friends from such a fate. He took a deep breath and swore to himself right then and there that no matter what, he would protect the ones he loved, even if it meant his own death. He would not let the only place he’d ever called home fall to the hands of that monster. No. “Never again.”

“I’ll protect them.” His throat was dry as he looked up at the females, but determination was in his eyes. “I’ll protect them if it’s the last thing I do.”

“You must be prepared.” Those eyes looked right through him, making him feel exposed. “You must practice and keep training. It would be disastrous if you forgot the Founders’ training.” She paused slightly before continuing. “It is time for you to go now. You have stayed too long as it is.”

The world began spinning around him again. “No, wait!” Harry called out. “How do you know about the Founders? Who are you? What did you show me this?”

There was no reply.

And then, he was falling, falling, falling into the endless black void. He fell endlessly, on and on, never to hit the ground. In panic, he raised his body, trying to dig his limbs into unseen walls, only to bang his feet against a hard surface.

He opened his eyes only to find himself back in the blurry darkness of Severus’ guestroom.