The Sunrise of My Heart

Before any of us were ready for it, the end of the summer bloomed into existence, taunting us with how close it was. In only four days, we would be packing our things and leaving Grimmauld Place. For Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George, it just meant another year of harder work, longer essays, and more of Snape's dreadful attitude. But for me and Harry, it was more. It was like leaving family to return to a place where things weren't always as happy as they should have been. Especially now that the Wizarding world thought Harry was a liar, I knew that Hogwarts wouldn't be the school we all loved. It would be a very, very different place from the one we were used to.

Each night, I was dreaming again, but this time my dreams weren't bloody and horrifying. My dreams now were always the same ones, all of them specific memories form my third year. These dreams, I didn't mind having at all. As I dreamed that night, I was smiling softly because I enjoyed remembering.

I was sleeping soundly, only a little thirteen-year-old at the time, when something heavy pressed on me. I opened my eyes to see some dark form laying on top of me. I opened my mouth, but before I could scream, something furry was shoved into my mouth. Sputtering, spitting, and pushing it away, I realized it was a dog's paw, and I grinned suddenly.

"Sirius?" I asked softly, and was met with a cold nose to the face. "Sirius, what are you doing here? Sneaking into the castle like this is dangerous!"

The large dog got off me and pushed my hand down onto what I had originally thought was my bed, but I soon realized was wet grass. "Wha--? Oh. I was sleep-walking again, wasn't I? So where am I?" I looked around and realized I was just beyond the castle steps, which was a relief. I didn't want to be anywhere near the Dementors, especially without my wand. "Come on, you must be starving. I'll get you inside and get you some food."

Sirius whined gratefully at that, and silently, we crept back into the castle. Moving very carefully, I got him up to the Room of Requirements, needing it desperately. Inside the room, there were beds, couches, and a doorway to the kitchens so he could get food. Now that it was safe, Sirius morphed back into his human form and went immediately for some food, scarfing it down like a ravenous wolf, or dog.

"Sirius, when was the last time you ate? You look like it's been years!"

"It has been years since I've had a proper meal," he pointed out. "And I've been living mostly off of street rats and trash since I escaped Azkaban. A real, full meal is a blessing right now."

"So, why exactly did you come here? I mean, you obviously have a reason for it, one other than getting a full meal and chatting."

"I've found him," he said, his eyes looking nearly delirious. "I've finally found him, and now I can kill him! I've waited so long for this moment, and now it's here!"

"Yeah, you're crazy. Just so you know." I sat down across from him, turning the chair backwards and straddling it. "You sound like an escaped nutter from prison who wants to murder people."

"Not people, just the one. Just him. You know how long I've waited for this! You know how much he deserves it!"

"Yeah, but isn't he already dead? I mean, didn't you kill Peter the day you got arrested?"

"No! I wish I had! He cut off his own finger to make it look like he'd died!"

"Hang on, what? Peter's missing a finger...?" Sudden realization hit me, and I eagerly seized Sirius' hands. "So you know who he is then, right?? I just figured it out!"

"He's Wormtail right now. He's a rat. Ronald Weasley's rat, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes! We have to get that rat!"

I woke up when I felt something very hard and unmoving hit me. Or rather, when I hit it. I looked around and realized that, once again, I had been sleepwalking. I had walked all the way down to the kitchen and had run into the wall.

"Ouch. I hit my nose," I muttered, rubbing it. "And my boobs. Poor things weren't made to hit walls." There was a cough form behind me, someone obviously trying hard not to laugh. I turned around and saw Harry sitting at the table, holding in laughter. "Hey, you try running your most tender organ into a really hard wall! It's not nice."

"I'll pass, thanks," he said, still chuckling.

"I'm going to ignore the way you're rudely laughing at me, and instead ask, What are you doing up?"

He shrugged. "I just couldn't sleep. I'm excited about going back to Hogwarts and all, but I'm worried that it's going to be different."

"Me too," I agreed. "Plus, it sucks to be leaving here, you know? I really love being here."

"Trust me, I know," he agreed. "So, you sleep walk?"

"Yeah. I don't do it very often, but if I have really stressful dreams or dream about walking, I'll sometimes start sleepwalking."

"Can't that be dangerous?"

"Yeah. I once broke my arm 'cause I was sleepwalking and I tripped down a flight of stairs. And once I almost walked into the Black Lake but the giant squid pushed me out. Friendly bloke, that squid. I think he likes me 'cause I feed him toast with pomegranate jam. That's his favorite flavor."

"I see," Harry said, giving me that classic look that said 'You're freaking demented'.

"So I definitely like real Mad-eye Moody better than fake Mad-eye. He gave me the creeps," I said, changing the subject.

"Why? He acted just like the real Moody so he wouldn't get caught."

"I know, but he always looked at me like he was seeing through my clothes....Holy fuck! He was!" I realized that every creepy look he had given me, every time he'd been staring at me too close for comfort, he was probably using his magical eye to see through my clothes. And he'd probably done it with the other girls, too.

Harry made a face and nodded. "You might be right," he agreed.

"Ugh. Ew! I feel so violated. What a creep!"

Harry chuckled softly at my reaction, which involved some twitching and shuddering. "I'm glad you were here this summer," he said to me, smiling. "It wouldn't have been as good if you weren't."

I grinned at him. "I know. I'm just the life of the party," I joked. "Honestly, though, even though I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor, you're like a brother to me, you know?"

"Yeah, I agree. You've become like a sister to me over the past few months. It's nice to have a sister, even one as crazy as you."

"Well, you gotta be a little crazy to make it through life," I said with a grin. "Now, I'm going to bed because it's late and I'm tired. Get some sleep, oh brother of mine." With a last smile at Harry, I went back to bed, moving silently when I got to my room because Ginny and Hermione were still sleeping. When I woke up the next morning, I wasn't in my bed, though, but Regulus'. Because after I'd gone back to bed, I'd dreamed about Sirius, the girl Roxanne, and him, wondering if they had all been as happy as they'd appeared in the picture.