Harry slowly opened his eyes to a blurry, dimly-lit room. He fumbled for his glasses a minute before finding them on a table beside the bed.

As he climbed out of bed, he heard voices. He walked over to the door and listened carefully. Was that Ron and Hermione? Had he been taken to the Burrow? No, Lupin wouldn't have gone against his wishes. Or would he?

Harry hurried over to the solitary window and looked out. No, he thought as he sagged against the windowsill. No! No, Godammit, no!

He spun around and slumped against the wall, feeling all traces of strength sapped from his body. Why had they brought him here, to Sirius' old house? Lupin knew he didn't want to come back here.

Desperately, he clenched his eyes shut and tried to Apparate, but the sickening feeling didn't come. Instead, he was forced to his knees by a dizzy feeling. He panted lightly as he realized what was going on. They were going to keep him here. They weren't going to let him leave, to go on his mission.

Harry stormed over to the door and flung it open. His legs shook slightly at seeing the familiar walls, but he stood his ground.

“Harry, are you all right?” asked Lupin softly.

“You have the nerve to ask me if I'm okay after bringing me here?” snarled Harry.

“We had no--”

“I don't care. You promised not to bring me here. You lied to me. I HATE YOU!” he screamed and re-entered his room, slamming the door behind him. He leaned against it, breathing heavily. Angrily, he started pacing. He wouldn't let them keep him here. He wouldn't. There had to be a way out of here.

As he stalked past his bed for the third time, he noticed that his trunk had been placed at the foot of his bed. The Invisibility Cloak. He could use it to escape.

Harry opened the lid and started rifling through the contents. Ten minutes later he realized the horrible truth. His cloak was gone.

Desperately, he overturned his trunk. As he searched through it, he discovered that everything he'd hidden under the loose floorboard at Privet Drive wasn't in his trunk.

“Fuck,” he hissed as he grabbed a wrapped parcel, intent on flinging it against the wall. He released the package with a wince and stared with grim fascination at the shard of glass stuck in the palm of his hand.

He swallowed hard before tugging the glass out of his hand. Blood flowed freely and he had to bite his lip to keep from gasping. He quickly grabbed an old shirt out of the mess on the floor and pressed it to his hand.

“Shite,” he breathed, his hand shaking slightly. He leaned against the bed and kept the shirt pressed to the cut.

Finally, after several long minutes, he lifted the shirt and found that the bleeding had slowed. He dabbed gingerly at the sticky blood that covered his hand and found that the cut wasn't as bad as it had looked. It didn't hurt at all now, he soon realized. He continued cleaning off his hand and when it was nearly clean, he began putting everything back in his trunk, though he put aside the package that contained the glass.

Harry set the package on his bed and headed for the door again. Surely they wouldn't lock him in his room? He tried the handle and found it unlocked. Harry opened the door and hesitantly peered into the hallway. Finding it deserted, he ventured out a few steps.

Not even five steps away from his room, he stopped and looked around. This was Sirius' house. The very place Sirius had been trapped in before he'd died was where he would be trapped too before he had to meet his fate.

Oh God, he thought and rushed back to his room. He sank onto his bed, suddenly unable to hold himself up any longer. They were going to do exactly what they had done to Sirius to him. And now, Dumbledore wasn't here to save him. He shook his head. No, he wouldn't let them trap him here.

As he shook his head, light caught the bit of glass he'd cut himself on and captured Harry's attention. He picked up the blood-covered glass and carefully examined it. No, he couldn't kill himself, that would be the easy way out. But here was something they couldn't take away, not like they had his freedom.

He lifted the glass and held it to his left wrist. After a moment of hesitation, he slid it across his pale skin and saw more of his blood rise and spill out through the smooth cut.

“Harry?” came a voice through the door. Lupin. He swore softly and pressed the bloody shirt to his wrist.

“What?” he yelled as he tossed the shirt into his trunk and shut it.

“Can I talk to you?” asked Lupin.

“Sure,” said Harry, knowing that Lupin was sure to come in anyways. The door opened and Lupin came in, looking slightly apprehensive.

“Harry, I want to apologize for bringing you here, but it is the safest place you can be right now and the man who gave us the antidote suggested it, so that you would be safe,” said Lupin.

“I understand,” said Harry.

“Professor McGonagall would rather you stay here until you're fully recovered and perhaps a bit longer, instead of leaving right away and trying to destroy Voldemort.”

“Isn't that my first priority, though?” said Harry.

“No, your well-being is your first priority. Voldemort can't do any worse than he's already done,” said Lupin.

“That's true,” sighed Harry. He would have to cater to their wishes and stay, at least a little longer. “I'll stay, then.”

“Well, now that that's settled, you have some visitors,” said Lupin. He stood up and headed for the door. As he left, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny entered.

“What are you three doing here?” asked Harry.

“Keeping you company, of course,” said Hermione.

“But there's another reason to be here,” added Ginny.

“Why else would you be here, then?” asked Harry.

“Well, I've been doing research and I found out that that veil Sirius fell through is a portal to the Realm of the Dead. If you fall through, it kills you,” said Hermione.

“I already know that he's dead,” said Harry, becoming irritated by her bringing this up. Sirius was dead and he wasn't coming back, along with Dumbledore.

“But Sirius didn't die,” said Hermione softly.

“Stop this! Sirius is dead! Why do you have to keep doing this to me! Sirius and Dumbledore are dead and there's no way to bring them back!” Harry yelled. “Get out of my room!”

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny quickly exited his room and shut the door behind them. Harry jumped off the bed and paced. Why did everyone insist on tormenting him?

~*~*~

“Oh no,” Hermione muttered. She looked like she was going to cry.

“What's wrong?” asked Lupin.

“We may have a way to bring Sirius back, but Harry doesn't believe us,” said Ron, his arm around Hermione's shoulders.

“What?” asked Lupin. If there was any way possible to bring Sirius back, Dumbledore surely would have told them.

“We'd better sit down and I'll explain everything,” said Hermione. They headed downstairs and sat on old, worn chairs in the living room.

“Now, as I was saying, we may have a way to bring Sirius back,” said Hermione.

“What about Dumbledore?” asked Lupin.

“We can't bring him back because of certain criteria the person has to meet.”

“And these criteria are?” asked Lupin.

“First off, they have to have been sent through the portal directly into the Realm. Second, the person has to be an Animagus or anything where the person can change form. The third part is where we have a problem. We need someone who desperately wants Sirius back, as they will be the person who does the ritual to pull the person from the veil. We were going to use Harry for that, since he would want Sirius back so badly,” said Hermione. She was silent for a moment, then began staring intently at him.

“What?” asked Lupin, feeling slightly disconcerted.

“I think you would work instead of Harry.” Hermione grabbed several books from the floor near her feet and rifled through them. She held up a bit of parchment.

“Yes, a god-relative, a relative, or a close friend,” she said breathlessly. “So, all we need is a way into the Ministry.”

“I know,” said Ginny. “We can pretend we want a tour of the building, like, oh, what do the Muggles call it? A fielding trip. Yes, a fielding trip for those of us interested in a job at the Ministry. I bet we can get my dad to help us.”

“Good idea, Ginny,” said Ron.

“I don't think we should tell Harry that we're attempting this,” said Hermione. “From the way he reacted when I brought up Sirius, I don't think it's a good idea.”

“I don't think we should tell him either,” said Lupin.

He'd hate to see Harry's reaction if he found out what they were doing. It was better to do it this way, though.

Over the course of an hour, they finalized their plans. If they were lucky, Sirius would be back by September first. That left them plenty of time to get ready.

Lupin helped Ron, Hermione, and Ginny gather up the books and parchment, then said, “I'm going to go check on Harry.”

He quietly entered Harry's room after knocking garnered only silence. Harry was sleeping fitfully, muttering softly as he tossed and turned. Lupin gently laid a hand on Harry's head.

“Get better soon, Harry,” he whispered.

~*~*~

Shortly after closing his eyes, Harry opened them to find himself standing in a dimly-lit room.

“You,” he hissed as he caught sight of Voldemort, his face seeming to glow in the darkness. Harry reached for his wand, only to mutter, “Fuck,” when he remembered that it was back in Privet Drive. “Where are we?” Harry asked, confused by the surroundings and hoping to keep Voldemort's mind off whatever he had planned to do.

“Why don't you tell me what you think,” said Voldemort.

Sadicious bastard. No, he wouldn't give into the man. He was only playing mind games.

“What? You don't like games?” asked Voldemort, smirking slightly.

“Stop messing with my head!” yelled Harry. A jet of yellow light send him to his knees, gasping.

“Do not presume to think you can order me around,” hissed Voldemort. “I have all the power here. I have a wand and I have knowledge that you could never dream of having.”

Harry raised his head and glared defiantly. “I don't care what power you think you have,” he retorted.

“Pathetic little boy,” muttered Voldemort as he stalked over to stand in front of Harry, forcing him to look up. “Exactly where you were born to be,” he said and lifted a booted foot, then slammed it into Harry's chest. Harry curled up on the floor, fighting to breathe.

“Want this to end? I have a deal to make with you,” said Voldemort.

“I don't make deals with pathetic arseholes,” hissed Harry.

“Are you sure? You could have whatever you wanted. Your parents back? Perhaps that worthless mutt? Dumbledore? Anything at all.”

“Never,” said Harry forcefully.

“Then this will never end. I can keep you here forever. No one will be able to save you from me,” said Voldemort.

“You're lying. I was just in -- There's no way you could have captured me.”

“There are ways. Look around you, does this look familiar to you?”

“No,” admitted Harry. “But just you wait, they'll come and find me. I know they will.”

Voldemort laughed, sending chills down Harry's spine. “Why don't you think on that a while?” he said, moving away from Harry.

Harry, who was starting to feel better, took his chances and jumped up from the floor, diving at Voldemort. He almost managed to grab Voldemort's wand, but a well-placed punch from Voldemort caught him in the jaw, sending tears to his eyes.

Voldemort scrambled to his feet and hissed, “Crucio!”

Harry instinctively threw up his hands and shouted, “No!” To his surprise, a glowing orange shield enveloped him.

“What the--” said Voldemort before disappearing.

Harry sank to the ground, his strength gone, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was in his room in Grimmauld Place.