Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

A/N: Summer just started and I am bored. This is the result.

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Harry stared down at the book, frustrated. What a stupid assignment! How could he possibly write five feet on the uses of worm blood in potions? Finally giving up and making a mental note to owl Hermione later for help, he got up and began to leave the library when he heard a quiet voice coming from the other side of the library. Curiously, he made his way slowly closer to see if he could find out who it was.

"That's not right! It can't be…" He heard mumbled from the opposite side of the bookshelf he was pressed up against, followed by the sound of books being moved and pages being turned. "If that were true then… no, that can't be right. Damn!"

Harry moved over to peep through a spot where books were missing to see the other man. He was surprised when he saw Snape bent over the table looking confused, an expression Harry couldn't remember ever seeing on the man that usually appeared to be in control of every situation. Figuring he should probably leave before being noticed, Harry began to quietly walk away when the sound of a book slamming closed made him jump and he tripped over a pile of books on the floor behind him.

He stilled, waiting to see if Snape had heard him. He really wasn't in the mood for a run-in with Snape. So far he had spent the last week he'd been staying at the castle skillfully avoiding him.

He realized that his hopes were in vain, however, when Snape's voice barked from around the books, "Who's there?" Not a second later he was standing face-to-face with his least favorite professor. "Potter," he said, his silky voice cutting through the otherwise silent library, "I should have known. And what exactly are you doing lurking about the library?" he asked with a glare.

"I… um…I was just studying Sir." Harry stuttered, not making eye contact, still surprised from Snape's sudden appearance.

"Studying?" Snape asked in a mocking tone, "The Great Harry Potter, studying? Why do I find that hard to believe?" He then took note of the potions book under Harry's arm. "And potions nonetheless? Well this certainly is a surprise." Continued the sarcastic tone, "Has the Great Harry Potter finally realized that perhaps his fame alone won't allow him to pass my class? And just how is the essay coming along?" He grabbed the empty scroll of parchment from Harry's other hand.

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, trying to take it back, but to no avail.

"Tisk, tisk, Potter. I'm afraid I won't be able to give you a passing grade on this assignment. Quite disappointing." He said as he unrolled it, looked at it, and then gave it back.

"I haven't started writing yet, Sir." Harry responded through clenched teeth, annoyed at his Professor for always finding something to criticize him on.

"So I can see, Potter." He paused. "The Headmaster has informed me regarding the conditions of your arrival to Hogwarts. However regardless of the fact that I now have to deal with your constant presence in the castle during a time that I would normally have free from teenage annoyances, I will not permit your spying on me—"

"But I wasn't—"

"Do not interrupt me while I speaking." Snape demanded. "I will not permit your spying, or hovering, or whatever you should choose to call it." His voice then dropped to a hiss. "Unlike the rest of the staff and the rest of the wizarding world, I will not bend backwards with sympathy for the Boy-Who-Lived simply because he's having bad dreams," at that, Harry blushed slightly. So Dumbledore had told Snape about the nightmares… "or because he lost his precious Godfather." Harry's embarrassment turned to anger at the mention of his Godfather. He opened his mouth to reply when Snape continued. "I expect you to stay out of my way. Now leave." He ended with another ice-cold glare.

Harry was about to protest when he thought better of it and turned and walked out of the library, still fuming at the nerve of that git to even mention Sirius. He was walking quickly towards the Gryffindor tower, where he'd been staying, when he heard voices around the corner and he noticed that he was near the Headmaster's office. As he approached he heard Dumbledore speaking in whispers.

"He cannot know. Especially not right now. He is still dealing with the loss of his Godfather; he won't be able to handle the truth right now. We'll tell him when he is older. Trust me on this, Minerva."

Harry sighed, unsurprised that he was the subject of their conversation. "But Albus, he has a right to know what we know. This concerns him and it is unfair not to tell him," she argued.

"Not now, Minerva. I will tell him when the time is right, but for now my decision is final." He said with determination. He heard McGonagall sigh in defeat.

Harry, realizing that he wouldn't be able to hear what they were talking about, continued around the corner, trying not to appear as if he'd been listening. They both looked in his direction.

"Mr. Potter." She said with a note of surprise. Dumbledore smiled in greeting. Both looked as if they were hiding something, so Harry used it to his advantage.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, trying to look innocent.

"No, my dear boy, why do you ask?" Dumbledore lied easily, his face quickly covering everything up.

Harry paused. "No reason," he lied back.

"Good," Dumbledore smiled, and then looked past Harry in the direction from which he had come. "Ah, Severus. Exactly the person I needed to find. Please, join me in my office. I'll see you around, Harry." He nodded at him and Harry took the hint and left.

He reached Gryffindor Tower and plopped down on a chair by the fire, which immediately sprang up, filling the room with warmth. Harry sighed. He had arrived a little over a week ago from the Dursley's house. Dumbledore had arrived in the middle of the night announcing that he must leave with him at once. While Harry was more than happy to leave the "care" of his relatives, he had been told little about why he was here. He had owled the Headmaster the previous night regarding a nightmare he'd had, but it hadn't been anything out of the ordinary: Voldemort had been there and he had tortured a few muggles and Harry had woke up with his scar burning painfully. It had been a perfectly normal dream considering who he was.

Since he'd been here he had overheard many partial conversations similar to that which he'd just heard. They had all been regarding him and when he asked about them, Dumbledore or whichever Order member was around told him that it was nothing, there was nothing to be concerned about and he needn't worry so much. Quite an odd request considering he was supposed to defeat Voldemort someday.

He was getting tired of being kept in the dark about his life.

The castle was boring during the summer. There was nothing much to do to keep him occupied, as Dumbledore had "requested" that he stay inside, meaning that he could not go to Hagrid's hut to visit fang or go flying. So that only left doing homework and wandering around aimlessly. He rarely ran into anybody, as the only people remaining at the castle were himself, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape as far as he could tell. There was also the occasional Order member that he saw. Harry stared into the flames, lost in thought, as his eyes began to close…

"Bring them to me," hissed Voldemort.

Two women were brought forward, escorted by two robed and masked figures, and roughly pushed to the ground.

"Sarah, Melissa, how good to see you both. I am so glad you could join me today." Voldemort then yelled "Crucio!" and the two women began screaming with pain.

Harry was shocked. As soon as the curse had been yelled, his body began to hurt. It was nothing like how the curse felt, or rather, it was, but a very watered-down version of it. It was painful, but bearable.

The curse was lifted and Harry didn't feel the pain anymore.

"Ladies, I am very disappointed in you both. You were given the chance to join me, to fight against Dumbledore and his little Golden Boy, but you declined. Your skill and power could have been put to good use with me, but alas, your decision has been made." Voldemort said in mock-sadness.

"We… would never… join you," gasped one of the ladies as she lay panting on the ground, voice hoarse from screaming.

"The choice was yours. Crucio!" he yelled again. They screamed as Harry began to feel the curse, slightly stronger than before.

Harry sat up suddenly and wiped away the band of sweat on his forehead and tried to slow his breathing. How could this be? How could he feel pain in his nightmares? Emotional pain- that was a given, but actual, physical pain? This wasn't right. He rose and walked shakily to the bathroom, realizing that he felt weaker than he had when he had lain down. He quickly washed his face, relishing the cool water against his burning scar. He then exited the common room and headed towards the stone Gargoyle entrance to the Headmaster's office.

When he arrived there he realized he didn't know the password, but before he was able to begin listing sweets, Dumbledore appeared from the staircase and looked at him in mild surprise. "Harry, my boy, are you alright?" he questioned as he ushered him into his office and offered him a lemon drop, which Harry politely refused.

"I… I don't know, Sir," he began, and then proceeded to tell the Headmaster about the new addition to his nightmares, hoping he could explain it. As he finished he looked at the Headmaster who looked thoughtful.

"Curious…" he mumbled, looking lost in thought. He then opened a desk drawer and took out a small piece of parchment, which he quickly scribbled on then folded it and handed it to Harry. "Please take this down to Professor Snape for me Harry," he requested with a smile.

"But, Sir…" Harry began to protest. He was not in the mood to confront his Professor right now, especially without receiving any answers from Dumbledore.

"He should be in his classroom now, preparing his lesson plans for next year. Good day Mr. Potter." He then began to read over something on his desk.

But Harry ignored the dismissal. "But Sir. What about the nightmare? What about the curse? Do you know what is going on? Why am even here in the first place?" Harry asked exasperated. Why wouldn't he tell him anything?

"You needn't worry yourself with that now, Harry. Now please, deliver the note," he said with a tone that said the conversation was over.

Harry sighed and left the office, heading towards the dreaded dungeons. How could he not "worry himself with this?" What was Dumbledore thinking? Why wouldn't he just tell him the truth for once?

He arrived outside the classroom, regretting even going to the Headmaster in the first place. Not only did he not receive any answers, but now he had to face Snape as well. He rubbed his scar absently and realized he had been doing that since he had woken up, as it still burned. Cautiously, he knocked on the classroom door. "Enter," came the annoyed reply from inside. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside, making sure to leave to door open behind him.

Snape looked up from his desk where he had many papers scattered and books lying open. "What do you want Potter?" he snapped with his infamous glared trained on him.

Timidly, Harry stepped forward and held out the note. "Professor Dumbledore wanted me to give this to you," he said quietly. As Snape snatched it from him he began to wonder what was written in the note. Too bad he hadn't thought to read it before, but knowing Dumbledore he had probably placed a charm on it to prevent him from reading it.

He watched silently as Snape scanned the note, unsure of whether or not he should leave or stay. His question was answered when Snape said under his breathe, "Intriguing," and then looked up at him. "Can you explain the pain you felt in your dream, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked with a surprising non-hostile tone.

Harry, surprised, responded, "Um… It was kind of like the Crutacious curse, but scaled down. Like a really weak version of it." He hoped this answer was enough because he couldn't think of any other way of describing it.

It seemed to be, as Snape then got up and walked into his office through a door behind his desk. "That will be all, Potter."

But Harry didn't leave. He refused to not get any answers regarding his nightmare. What if it happened again? Snape walked back into the classroom with a rather large book in his hand and glared at Harry. "Something else, Mr. Potter?" he asked, his tone of annoyance had returned.

Realizing that he was likely committing suicide by asking, Harry began. "Sir, do you know what is going on? The Headmaster won't tell me anything and I believe that I have a right to know." He said this with more confidence than he felt.

Snape looked surprised for only a moment before his expression returned to normal and Harry wasn't even sure if he'd seen the brief change at all. He paused before responding, as if contemplating his answer. He then nodded. "I have my suspicions which I believe are correct and this new development strengthens my theory," he said evenly and scholarly. He then sat down and began to flip through the book, paying no attention to Harry. After waiting a minute it was clear that he did not intend to continue so Harry pushed his luck.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what is your theory? Why is this happening? Dumbledore said not to worry, but I am finding that difficult to do."

For a few more moments Snape was silent and Harry was about ready to give up when he began to speak. "Dumbledore is a fool for telling you not to worry." He looked up and met Harry's eye. "This is a serious matter. At the time I am not going to tell you what I believe the cause to be, however I will leave you with this warning: I do not predict that this will go away. If anything, I believe it will get stronger. Nonetheless, as difficult as it may seem, you cannot let this run your life and you cannot devote your entire attention to it. The Headmaster most likely refused to tell you for fear that you would do just this, however not knowing what is happening will likely weigh on your mind even more. What happens will happen, regardless of what you do. For now, simply try to continue on with your life without fretting too much about this. When the time is right, you will know everything, but it is not necessary right now. If this happens again, please tell either the Headmaster or myself. Good day, Mr. Potter." He finished then began to read again, clearly excusing Harry.

Harry quietly said "Thank you for the truth," then left the classroom. If he had turned back he might have seen the shocked look the Potions professor had on his face at being thanked by his most despised student.

At last, he had the truth, or at least more of the truth than he'd had before. But now he was worried. Snape had said that the dreams might get stronger, and that frightened him. He was also curious as to Snape's honesty with him. Nobody else would tell him anything, why did Snape? Snape hated him. What was going on?

………………………..

Harry laid in his bed tossing and turning, unwilling to fall asleep, knowing that what confronted him would be another nightmare, another killing, and, according to what Snape had said, more pain.

………………………..

"Crucio!" Voldemort yelled.

The man screamed and Harry's body felt as if fire was burning it from the inside out while his organs were being grinded together.

Harry sat up and gasped in pain. He clenched his fists around the covers of his bed and closed his eyes tightly as he waited for the pain to dull. I suppose Snape was right. He grimly thought.

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A/N: So, what do you all think? I haven't proof read the story at all, so I'm sorry if there are any horrible mistakes in it, but it is getting kind of late.

Should I continue? I've never been much of a storywriter, more of a story reader, but I do have some free time now, so maybe I could start writing? Or it this totally awful and should I delete it and hide my face in shame? I am very insecure about my writing abilities, so any feedback is welcome.

I will probably continue the story, whether people like it or not. The difference will be whether I continue it for myself, or online.

So I have a basic online for the story… No, actually I don't. It's more like a couple of ideas that will somehow be incorporated into the story. And Snape is smarter than me, because I haven't really figured out what's up with Harry yet; maybe Snape could lend me his book? I know what will happen, just not why yet.

Anyways, it's late and I think I'm rambling. Goodnight all and PLEASE GIVE ME FEEDBACK, I need to know if this is any good. Thanks!