Harry felt quite separate from everyone over the next few days. He tried to keep his spirits up, but it was difficult with everything he had on his mind.
On New Year's Eve, everyone in the Weasley family stayed up. Harry looked up at the Weasleys' clock – for the first time since Christmas, all the hands were pointing at 'home'. Mr. Weasley had been at the Ministry since Christmas night, only stopping back at home once a day to grab a bit of shut-eye. Bill and Charlie had been running around on assignments from the Order. It had been very difficult for the rest of them to get into the holiday spirit.
Harry felt as though the hours to midnight were taking an eternity to pass – he couldn't bring himself to be happy about the New Year. It was supposed to be a time to forget all the bad things that happened the year before, and start over. For Harry, none of this meant anything. He couldn't forget the prophecy, or Sirius – he certainly couldn't forget that only a week ago Malfoy and Bellatrix had escaped and rejoined Voldemort's ranks. They were probably planning another scheme to kidnap Harry at this very minute. He just wanted to go to bed. He would wait, though – he didn't feel like upsetting anyone, not when they were all finally having a good time.
Harry had written to Katie after he had found out about the escape; it shook her up quite a bit. Harry supposed that finding out that the people who had kidnapped her and put her under the Imperius curse had escaped couldn't be very comforting to her thoughts. She seemed more worried about him, though, then she was about herself.
She wrote "...Please be careful, Harry. I don't want you to get hurt – I can't help worrying that they're going to come after you again..."
Finally, the clock stuck midnight. Fred and George released their custom fireworks into the house; one of them fashioned to look like Peeves chasing Umbridge around. Bill, Charlie, and Ginny broke into song, while Ron and Hermione and Mr. & Mrs. Weasley were sharing New Year's kisses. Finally, after a few rounds of butterbeer, everyone headed for bed. Harry remembered happily that he would be seeing Katie the next day, then the exhaustion took over and he fell straight to sleep.
"Potter, don't you know the Dark Lord won't stop until he has you?" he heard Lucius Malfoy's cold drawl whisper maliciously in his ear. He turned around to see a tall dementor-like figure towering over him. He felt fear take over his body, as the sky turned black. Other than the stars, which seemed tiny, he could see nothing.
"We'll keep coming..." it was Bellatrix's voice this time. "And everyone you care about will be in danger until you give in."
"You've already sacrificed that mutt of a godfather; you've put two of your friends in danger... but you keep running – very foolish, Potter."
"A true Gryffindor would give in – he'd stop the pain he was causing to every one around him..."
"No, but Potter values his own safety above others – he doesn't care who dies..."
THAT'S NOT TRUE!
Harry tried to scream at them, but he didn't know where they were, and no sound would come out of his mouth. He wanted to tell them to go away – he wasn't going to give into their torment. The last thing he saw was a flash of green light streaking past him, and he heard a thud on the ground, screams filling the air...
Harry woke up in a cold sweat. It was morning. He sat bolt upright in his bed
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Ron.
"It was a dream...just a dream," he said, breathlessly.
"What happened?"
"Lucius, Bellatrix – they told me it was my fault. Everyone I care about is in danger. I should give in; they said I should sacrifice myself now – instead of putting everyone in danger."
"It's alright Harry," Ron said, patting his back. "You know that's not true,"
"ISN'T IT?"
"No – it's not. If you give yourself to You-Know-Who now, he'll kill you – and then we won't have any chance. More people will die. You know that..."
Harry took a few deep breaths, Ron was right.
I can't give in now – I won't be saving anyone, he told himself.
"Harry – I believe you'll beat him one day. You're our only hope – against...V-" Ron stopped, and took a deep breath. "– against V-Voldemort."
Harry looked at him in shock.
"You said his name..."
"I thought it was about time – I mean, if you have to kill him, I should at least be brave enough to say the name..."
Harry didn't know why, but the fact that Ron had said Voldemort's name made him feel better. A lot better
"Thanks, Ron..."
"For what, mate?"
"I'm not sure," Harry grinned shakily at him. "But thanks, anyway."
The next day passed very much like Christmas. Both Dean and Katie arrived around three o'clock. Seeing Katie, for some reason, made Harry feel as though a great weight had been lifted. At four, Mrs. Weasley asked the boys to degnome the garden – they turned it into a competition to see who could throw a gnome the furthest, with Bill as the judge. Katie and Ginny provided an excellent audience, cheering for all the best throws. Hermione however kept flinching every time she saw someone grab a gnome by the legs ("Do you have to be so violent, Ron?") Ron's violence was rewarded when he won the competition by sending a gnome sailing 213 feet. On the point of Ron's victory, Hermione stood up and applauded louder than anyone.
Mr. Weasley then insisted that everyone make New Year's resolutions. Fred and George said they would make more trouble than any year before; Bill resolved to grow his hair as long as Dumbledore's, while Mrs. Weasley vowed to get a scissors to Bill's hair before he accomplished any such thing. Ron and Hermione promised to stop having arguments over stupid things; Harry laughed out loud. He had known them too long to believe that was possible.
"Well big fights, at least," said Hermione.
"What about you Harry?" asked Bill.
Harry knew what he wanted to promise – he wanted to say that he would discover how to get rid of Voldemort; he certainly couldn't tell everyone that.
"Win the Quidditch Cup," Harry said after a few moments.
"Oh – I should have made that one, too," said Ron, "But I must have had more important things on my mind," he added quickly when he saw the look on Hermione's face.
"That's what I thought," she said.
"Well, I think it's almost time for dinner, so you lot need to set up the tables out the back," Mrs. Weasley said, standing up and heading for the kitchen. Everyone got up and started setting up for dinner – they put out chairs, utensils, and plates, while Mr. Weasley stayed in the living room; he had to talk to Kingsley for a quick update before dinner.
Mrs. Weasley had pulled off a delicious dinner again, and they ate and talked until night had fallen and the black sky filled with stars.
"We should probably go on in," said Mr. Weasley. "Not too safe to be outside, with one thing and the other."
They cleared up and went inside – they could barely move they had eaten so much.
"Oh, dear – I've left my new cauldron outside," said Mrs. Weasley.
"I'll get it, Mum," said Ginny, and she ran out the back. Then, just like the night Percy had returned, there was a knock on the door. Mr. Weasley got up, confused, just like he had that night, and opened the door, throwing a curious glance back to his family as he did so.
"Good evening, Weasley. Having a good New Year?"
It was Lucius Malfoy, and he had a wand pointed squarely at Arthur's heart. There were several Death Eaters behind him. Harry counted at least three. Then from behind, Bellatrix entered the room with several more Death Eaters – Ginny Weasley struggling in the arms of a man Harry recognized as Macnair. Bellatrix laughed her horrible, cruel laugh.
"Look who I ran into out the back, Lucius," she turned to Ginny. "We seem to keep running into each other, don't we?"
Arthur's chest swelled up and he looked at Lucius defiantly.
"What are you doing here Malfoy?" he said.
Lucius smiled at him mirthlessly.
"We're here for Potter."