Chapter 44 - Mysterious Vision
Harry sat bolt upright in his bed, there was a drop of sweat rolling down his face. He told himself it was just a dream; nothing more.
But it seemed so real, he thought nervously.
He looked to the clock on his bedside table; it read 4:00 am. He thought momentarily of waking Ron up, or going to Dumbledore, but decided against it “ he would wait. He remained awake on the off-chance it had been real - another insight to Voldemort’s thoughts - and that falling asleep would only invite him back into Harry’s mind. Harry ran through his dream again, trying to remember every little detail. After what seemed like an eternity, the glow of the rising sun began to creep slowly in through the windows. Seamus stirred in his bed. Harry got up and dressed quickly, his mind frantic with thoughts about what his dream, if it even was a dream, meant. He sat back on his bed for another few minutes. He looked at his clock again “ a quarter to seven. Deciding he had waited long enough, he got up and went downstairs. Katie and Hermione were already there, casually checking their essays and chatting quietly.
“You’re up early …” Katie said when she saw him. “What happened? You look exhausted.”
“I’ve been up since four.”
“Why?”
Harry walked over and sat between the two of them. He decided that he’d get their opinion before going back to Dumbledore.
“But, Harry “ that’s not possible, you haven’t had any visions since summer, have you?” Hermione asked when he told them about his ‘dream’.
“No, I haven’t,” Harry said. “But this was the same “ it was so real.”
Katie looked from Harry to Hermione, obviously having missed something.
“What do you mean, ‘visions’?” she asked.
“Well, I have some kind of, I don’t know “ ‘mental connection’ with Voldemort. Last year I kept having dreams from inside his head, and I would pick up on his mood changes. That’s how he…” Harry stopped.
“…lured him to the Department of Mysteries “ when Sirius died,” Hermione finished quietly. “He used the connection “ made Harry think he was torturing Sirius, so Harry would try to rescue him.”
“Anyway,” Harry continued after a moment. “I studied Occlumency all last summer with Dumbledore “ it’s the power of closing your mind from intrusion,” he added at the questioning look on Katie’s face, “he made special trips to the Burrow and everything “ and by the last few weeks of summer I had managed to shut Voldemort out of my mind completely.”
They were all quiet, giving Katie a minute to process all the new information.
“And now “ you’ve had another vision?” she asked.
“Looks like it…” Harry said glumly.
“But what could have changed “ unless, you don’t have to constantly practice Occlumency, do you?” Hermione asked.
“Dumbledore didn’t mention anything about that “ so no, I don’t think so…”
Hermione fell silent, looking trapped in thought.
“Well “ you had to shut down your emotions, right? What if you’ve been too emotional, lately “ maybe you’ve become more vulnerable…” she said after a minute.
“I shut down my mind during the summer “ when Sirius died “ what could be more emotional than that?” Harry said, a touch of anger in his voice.
“Well “ grief is different. It’s powerful, but it’s more emptiness than anything else. And you would have wanted to shut down your emotions then, anyway. But now…”
Hermione shot an anxious glance at Katie.
“Now what?” Harry demanded, not understanding why she was looking at Katie.
“Well “ what if you’re feelings for Katie have… well “ opened you up to Voldemort again?” she asked nervously.
“This is not Katie’s fault!” Harry snapped.
“Harry “ that’s not what I meant. I’m not blaming her, I’m just saying…”
“Well, don’t ‘just say’!” he spat, standing up. “I’ve got to go to Dumbledore; maybe he’ll know what’s going on…see you later.”
Harry stormed out of the common room, wondering furiously why Hermione never managed to keep her opinion to herself. As he walked, however, his anger at Hermione slowly ebbed away and was replaced with frustration “ frustration of what he had seen. The woman Voldemort had killed, Ophelia “ she had called him Tom. And before Voldemort had killed her, he had called her by her first name, and he had felt sad. Harry knew there had to be something important there, but he couldn’t understand what.
Suddenly Harry, who had been paying no attention to where he was going, felt himself slam into someone and fall over. He looked up from the ground.
“Professor Lupin!” he said. “I’m sorry “ I wasn’t watching…”
“It’s alright Harry, no harm done,” he said as he helped Harry up. “Where are you going so early?”
“Dumbledore,” Harry responded abruptly, as he began to walk again.
“Again? It’s not about last night is it?” Lupin asked quietly as he turned to walk with Harry.
“No “ but what happened with that?” Harry asked.
“Nothing really “ Dumbledore still has the map. He’s decided to keep a close eye on both Pettigrew and Malfoy, but not to let them now we’re aware of their presence. So don’t you let them know either… treat Pettigrew as you would Snape…”
Harry let out a snort of laughter. It wouldn’t be too difficult to treat Wormtail with the same animosity as he would Snape, considering he was the reason his parents were dead. The only problem would be an increased desire to throttle him on the spot.
“No problem,” he said. “But that’s not why I’m going to see Dumbledore “ Chocolate Frog.”
The statue guarding Dumbledore’s office didn’t move.
“Ice Mice,” Lupin muttered, and the entrance opened. “Changed it last night, just in case Pettigrew has the bright idea to sneak in. So what have you come to see Dumbledore about?”
“S’pose you’ll find out in a minute,” Harry said as Lupin pushed open the door to the office. Dumbledore was already up, surveying something on his desk.
“Ah “ there you are,” Dumbledore said, smiling. “Saw you coming “ this map is truly amazing “ however did the four of you manage it Remus?”
“Never mind that now,” Lupin replied. “Harry seems to have something important to discuss with you…”
Dumbledore turned his gaze to Harry.
“I think… that I’ve had another vision.”
“A vision?” Dumbledore asked.
“From Voldemort’s mind.”
“Are you sure, Harry…that it wasn’t just a dream?” Dumbledore asked.
“It could’ve been. I don’t know. But it felt real.”
“What happened?”
“I was inside Voldemort. He went into a room, Ophelia Cunningham was inside, she had been tortured…she was really weak. He asked her what was inside the Department of Mysteries, and he said that Brahms had been killed. He tried to convince her to talk “ but she didn’t. He killed her.”
Dumbledore was silent; Lupin looked, still with shock, from Harry to the headmaster.
“Dumbledore, sir “ did Voldemort know Ophelia Cunningham at Hogwarts?” Harry asked tentatively.
Dumbledore surveyed him curiously
“Yes “ they were in the same year. Ophelia was a Gryffindor, though. Why do ask?”
“Because… Voldemort “ well he referred to her as Cunningham, but the last time he asked her to change her mind, he called her Ophelia. And she called him Tom. And just before he killed her, he felt, I don’t know “ sad…”
Dumbledore smiled sadly at this.
“Perhaps there’s still a small piece of Tom left inside Voldemort, after all,” he said quietly. “If this really was a vision of course “ hopefully it was no more than a dream…”
Just as he said this a small tawny owl tapped on the window. Dumbledore strode over and opened the window, taking the Daily Prophet from the owl’s beak. He unrolled it, and Harry read a small amount of shock on his face when he looked at the first page; he sighed deeply.
“What does it say, Dumbledore?” Lupin asked anxiously.
“Abducted Ministry Workers Brahms and Cunningham Found Dead This Morning”Dumbledore said, looking up at Harry.
“So it was real?” Harry asked. “But how “ I thought I closed my mind to him…”
“Have you been very emotional lately, Harry? Maybe because of Arthur Weasley’s death or Pettigrew’s presence within the castle…”
…or Katie, Harry thought.
Dumbledore watched him sadly for a moment.
“Try to close down your mind tonight and tomorrow night when you sleep “ I know it will be difficult, Harry. But it’s very important. Then Friday afternoon, around five, I want you to come to my office. We’ll practice you’re Occlumency, and see if that’s the problem.”
“There a chance it’s something else?” Harry asked, hopeful and frightened at the same time.
“It’s possible. But we won’t know until Friday “ until then, try to focus you’re energy on shutting down your emotions.”
Harry nodded, and without another word he left.
Hermione was right, he thought. It’s Katie.
He walked aimlessly for a minute, but headed for the Great Hall when his stomach grumbled. He sat down at the Gryffindor Table just as Ron, Hermione, Katie, and Ginny were walking in. He gulped hard when he spotted Katie and busied himself by spreading marmalade on his toast. He tried not to look at her directly, but this was made difficult when she sat next to him and asked what happened.
“Turns out the vision probably was real,” he said off-handedly.
“And…” she said.
“Well, Dumbledore’s going to figure out why it’s happening again,” he said. It wasn’t a total lie.
“Oh… well “ there’s a trip into Hogsmeade Friday… and since its Valentine ’s Day, I figured we’d…”
“No, I don’t think I can “ On Friday I have to go see Dumbledore at five…”
“That’s fine “ we’ll go early, and I’m sure we’ll be back in time “”
“No. You can go yourself if you like “ but I don’t want to,” he said briskly.
He stood up and strode quickly out of the Great Hall, bringing his toast with him. He felt guilty; and he could only imagine what Katie was feeling at the moment. But he had no choice “ he wasn’t going to be able to shut down his emotions if he was with her “ and giving Voldemort access to his thoughts wasn’t an option. So, until Friday at least, he was going to stay as far away from her as possible.