A cool wind blew against his face. His lips went numb, and would no doubt be blue in color. From his breath, part of the vapor condenses into water droplets, so that a cloud was visible in front of him. The cold was so intense that Harry couldn't warm himself up by rubbing over his arms. The cold was impenetrable, too, a no-man's-land made of endless miles of fog and grayness stretched out before his eyes. A sense of unhappiness, grief, and helplessness filled Harry's being.
Harry felt a presence behind him. He felt long, cold fingers digging into the flesh of his shoulder. The pain was not overpowering, but it was a cutting pain. His skin felt like it had been burned. Only it was not a fire that caused it, but an all-encompassing cold. Harry looked at his shoulders, the wounds were light gray in color and small transparent blisters were visible. Trembling with fear, he turned and saw .. Nothing. He turned paranoid and looked out in all directions to see his attacker.
Harry turned around once more. The face of his attacker made his blood clot. A rotting face, without eyes, nose, mouth, or lips, floated before him. The skin was gray/brown in color, with large rotting patches that sometimes looked red or black. Where the sight was already nauseating, the smell had an even greater effect. The creature lingered in front of him, and although there was no wind, the rotting black robe flapped ominously behind the dementor.
"E-Expecto Pat-tronum," Harry stuttered. He didn't know if it was his fear or the cold that made his teeth chatter.
Nothing happened, not even a silver cloud.
The dementor didn't seem to want anything, he hung motionless in front of Harry. He seemed to watch Harry, like a curious student dissecting an insect. This got Harry even more on his nerves, he didn't know now whether to attack or flee. His body chose for him and stood still like a statue.
"H-h-ha-rrrr-y," came a raw, dead voice. The creature seemed to have spoken, although the lips did not move.
"....Harry Potter... We come for you. We are looking for you. We will find you." said the creature.
Harry took a step back. He felt his heartbeat in his throat. An uncontrollable desire to flee filled his being.
In the meantime, he was taking whole steps backward to create distance between him and the being. But with every step, the creature seemed to draw closer. The rattling sound of the dementor's breath was clearly audible. He himself had stopped breathing, his body seemed to consider it secondary to fleeing.
He took another step back, but stepped wrong and lost his balance. He landed on his butt. He shuffled backward on all fours. In a sitting motion, he kept looking at the creature, which now hovered high above him. The dementor leaned over and grabbed Harry.
"We are always there." said the creature.
-....-
"Harry!" said some voice in the distance.
-....-
"Mate, wake up! It's just a dream...."
Harry kicked his blankets, which were wrapped around his legs. He thrashed around with his arms, without hitting his dementor. He was profoundly sweating, his blankets and mattress felt cold and clammy with moisture.
Harry looked around, startled. After several times dazing into the room, he took the time to recognize the people in his room. At his foot and at the side of his bed were his "old" friends: Ron and Hermione. Hermione looked genuinely distraught and seemed worried about Harry. Her hair was all over the place and even the quills (which wrote animatedly on her T-shirt) didn't write on the parchment. Ron was looking a little sheepish as if he couldn't hold his own.
"Oh, Harry! We were so shocked by your screams. I personally hadn't heard you dream so much since the summer vacation, although I can't judge your time at Slytherin. Was it HIM? Was it Cedric again?" Hermione asked in a worried tone.
Harry shook no but couldn't answer yet, he still had the shivers of his dream.
Hermione rubbed his arm with her hand to comfort him. "Are you okay? Can we do something for you?"
"Sirius... Remus..." Harry could utter.
Hermione looked questioningly at Ron and her friend shrugged. "I'll get them, Harry. I'll be right back." Hermione says. She gives Ron another compelling look and a nod towards Harry, to encourage Ron to talk to Harry.
Before Harry could argue, the brunette walked out the door.
"Blimey mate, that was quite a dream. I was scared to death." Ron began uncomfortably.
"You were shocked, didn't you?" Harry snapped at the red-haired boy. "You wouldn't shy away from your own actions the other day."
Ron had the presence of mind to turn white and look guilty. He ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably and sighed out loud.
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I regret my actions against you. I shouldn't have hurt you." Ron said sullenly.
"And?" Harry asked in a questioning voice.
"And .. Well .. You know how I am, Harry. I get angry first and then start thinking. Just what Hermione always says about me. I'm sorry it took me so long." Ron said with a crooked smile.
"So what do you say? Friends again?"
"No." sounds decided.
Ron looked as if Harry had just snatched his last Chocolate Frog, complete with the rare "Famous Witches and Wizards Card". The redhead sputtered some nonsense and started to turn red, Harry was not sure whether this was due to anger or surprise.
"Why not Harry? I said sorry, didn't I? "
"You have not apologized for your behavior, the fact that you banned me from our group of friends. Circe! When I got sorted in Slytherin, you didn't even look at me for a week. And when I wanted to talk to you, you literally pushed me away. And I haven't even started about that attack yet! Yeah, you shouldn't have hurt me. But you did. And when you saw my bracelet, then you freaked out. You were a different person. Only when you see that will our friendship have a chance. A minuscule opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless." Harry said, gesturing wildly. At the end of his speech, he looked straight at Ron, looking for a glimmer of understanding.
He found no understanding. Pure rage was visible. This anger was close to the boy's surface.
"And what is this then? Does the fact that I came running to you at the first sound of distress, mean nothing to you? Are you really so arrogant that you think we always come running at every sound?" Ron roared at Harry.
"Not at every click of sigh, you should know that. But I'm sure my friends wouldn't find it a task to help me with a nightmare." Harry said in an icy voice.
"It was just a nightmare, you poof. Just. Grow. Up!" With those words, Ron turned and dashed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
In frustration, Harry screamed into his pillow. He let the conversation pass again. Nowhere could he find exactly where it had gone wrong. Should he have been less strict? No, he decided. Ron should have apologized for all his actions, not just for the offense in which he had a "hearing" with the Board of Governors.
A polite knock on his door made him stop thinking things over. Harry was happy to see his fathers, and Hermione ... a little.
The brunette looked around questioningly and spoke first. "Where's Ron, Harry?"
"Where do you think Hermione? Didn't you hear us then? I think the whole house is now aware of his behavior." Harry snapped.
"I heard something, but I couldn't understand the details. Didn't he apologize?"
"That... misguided boy said sorry, yes that's right. But he looked as if he had to kiss Snape by apologizing to me. Hell, he'd rather have a full day's lesson from Professor Binns than apologize. Be honest, Hermione. He only did it out of fear of talking to the Board." Harry sighed.
"You didn't give him a chance, Harry." the young witch whispered softly.
Remus clapped his hands and looked pointedly at Hermione. "Thanks for taking adequate action, miss. Granger, but we're taking it from here. Go to bed. I believe enough has been said."
Hermione turned her nose arrogantly, unhappy with Remus's clear dismissal. She turned briskly on her heels and walked out of the room. The door closed gently this time.
As soon as the door was closed, Sirius rushed towards Harry and studied him. With his hand, he seemed to measure his temperature and with the other, he felt for other discomfort or visible injuries.
"Pup, was it your scar again?" Sirius asked, somewhat reassured with his physical findings.
"What scar?" Harry asked evasively.
Remus raised his eyebrow at this, this answer told him enough. Apparently, the dream had nothing to do with Voldemort, but everything to do with the dementors.
Harry took a deep breath and continued his story. "I dreamed about a dementor. At first, I could only feel it. I was cold, lonely, and miserable. I didn't see him until later. He didn't have his hood all over his face. I... I saw him, Remus. It looked like a corpse, like a real dead creature. I panicked and tried to get away. The spell didn't work and I fell to the ground. It... it spoke to me. It said he came to get me, they were already looking. That he is always there."
Harry looked at Sirius and Remus with watery eyes. The men immediately took action and sat on either side of Harry. Arms were wrapped around him and soon Harry was in a warm cocoon of love and security. For several minutes it remained silent. No one seemed to want to break the silence because there were no words of comfort. Sirius and Remus understood very well that Harry didn't need false words of hope. The touches of comfort were enough for the boy.
When Harry calmed down, he started to speak again. "He hurt me. The nails of his fingers slid like knives into my shoulder. It was as if I burned myself from his touch. It was like that attack in August again. I was so scared." Harry stopped talking and seemed ashamed of his own fear. Sirius intervened immediately.
"Any wizard would be afraid in that situation, especially if you were left to your own devices. And certainly with dementors. Pup, I know better than anyone what those... floating corpses do to you. You are prey to them, nothing more and nothing less. Of course, you are afraid. I would think worse of you if you weren't." Sirius kissed Harry on his temple. And squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.
At the touch of his shoulder, Harry began to hiss in pain. Startled, Remus and Sirius shot up, sitting upright. Remus, startled, tugged at Harry's shirt and pulled the collar to the side. Four fingers were visible in the flesh above his collarbone.
"May I?" Remus asked, gesturing to the shirt. Harry nodded and meekly raised his arms so that Remus could take off his shirt.
Four fingerprints were visible on both shoulders. The prints themselves were light gray in color, the skin around them was red, as if they were inflamed. Inspecting his back revealed 2 thumbprints. These injuries seemed to be worse, these injuries seemed to have drawn blood.
"Sweet Merlin, pup. What's happening to you?" Sirius wondered desperately, his hand over his mouth.
Remus looked thoughtfully at the injuries and seemed to consult all kinds of books in his head. Sirius snuggled up to Harry again and hugged him, avoiding the injuries.
"It is good that you are going to Corvus tomorrow." Remus began to speak. Sirius gave his friend a startled look.
"Harry isn't going anywhere, Remus. I want to take care of him, look at him! He is not doing well at all." Sirius exclaimed in a shrill voice.
Remus put a reassuring hand on Sirius's and looked his partner deeply into his eyes. "Siri .. Pad.. You know it's okay if Harry goes to Corvus. That man has an enormous library and a wealth of experience. Although I am proficient in Defense Against the Dark Arts and completed my Master's degree, I have no active knowledge of the Dark Arts. Not as much knowledge as a man like Lestrange has. And maybe Rabastan knows something about this phenomenon... As much as I want to protect my cub and keep him with me, I know we have to let Harry go. That he can be helped by the prominent Dark family."
Sirius let out a high wail, like a puppy stepping on its tail. He looked at Harry with wide eyes.
"Do you also think Remus is right? Do you want to leave me for that ... man?"
Harry began to laugh against his better judgment. Sirius looked so wronged like a great injustice had been done to him. And that along with those ridiculously big eyes and that pout ... Let's put it this way, Harry couldn't imagine that this adolescent man was ever sentenced to life in Azkaban. A kitten was even more dangerous.
"Siri .. Dad. I'm not leaving you, I'm going to visit Corvus. The same man who promised to protect me. The same man who had previously helped me with my hearing and my questions about Ekrizdis. There is no doubt. I really think he can help me. And otherwise maybe his son."
Sirius sighed and looked at Harry defeated. "At least promise me that you won't visit those creatures? Not until we know how they affect you and vice versa. Promise me this Harry."
Harry laughed out loud and said, "That's a very easy promise, of course, I'm not going to look for a dementor. They don't make me very happy."
"Talking about making you happy .. Try not to drool too much over the many photos or portraits of Rabastan. You're only fifteen, way too young to like another man." Sirius said firmly.
"Oh? I thought you had a girlfriend when you were fifteen with a real handy tongue..." Harry said teasingly.
"A girlfriend?" Remus asked, tapping his lip thoughtfully. "I thought you were already lusting over me."
Sirius looked almost sulkily at the two men and said: "Are you already going to conspire? And here I was thinking that we were bonding over the holidays."
Harry threw in his puppy eyes and said in his sweetest voice. "Are you sleeping here with me tonight, Siri? I really need my dad and father to sleep at my side. This way I can think of you even better when I stay at Corvus' place."
Sirius rolled his eyes and let out a loud snort. "Just manipulate your old man. But I see it as a gain, this bed is better than mine."
Sirius sat down and snuggled under the covers. Remus hesitated for a moment but quickly followed his partner's lead. The three men were soon relaxed under the covers. As the candles magically faded, the three fell into a dreamless, deep sleep.