Two months later, Gryffindor Tower was warm, loud, and blissfully alive.
The remnants of the Halloween feast still clung to the air, pumpkin spice, treacle tart, laughter echoing off newly expanded walls. Harry lounged back in one of the deep armchairs, feet propped on a low table, listening to Ron dramatically recount how Nearly Headless Nick had almost lost his head again during the Deathday reenactments.
"…honestly," Ron finished, grinning, "you'd think after five hundred years he'd learn."
Laughter rippled around the group. Even Harry smiled.
Then he froze.
The common room vanished.
He stood in a long, narrow corridor of cold grey stone. Torches burned low along the walls, their flames guttering unnaturally, shadows stretching far too long. At the end of the hallway stood a single door, tall, black, and ancient, its surface etched with symbols that made Harry's head ache if he looked too closely.
Something waited beyond it.
His scar throbbed.
"Harry?"
The world snapped back into place.
"Harry!" Hermione's voice cut through the noise, sharp with worry.
He blinked, heart pounding, and found himself back in the common room, every pair of eyes fixed on him. Ron had half-risen from his chair. Luna watched him with unsettling calm. Neville looked pale.
"What, what happened?" Hermione asked, kneeling in front of him. "You went completely blank."
Harry rubbed his forehead. "I… I saw something."
"What sort of something?" Ron demanded.
"A hallway," Harry said quietly. "Long. Stone. There was a door at the end."
The room fell silent.
"A door," Neville repeated. "Like… the Department of Mysteries?"
"Maybe," Harry said. "I don't know. It felt… old. Important."
They began speculating at once, prophecies, traps, memories, but Harry cut across them, his voice sharper than he intended.
"Just because I met my parents," he said, "and Death, and the soul shard's gone, doesn't mean it stops."
They stared at him.
"Voldemort still sends visions," Harry went on, jaw tight. "Sometimes on purpose. Sometimes because I'm seeing what he's doing. It doesn't get easier. It just… hurts less than it used to."
Silence settled again, heavier this time.
Then Harry frowned.
"I just heard my name."
Ron looked around. "I didn't say anything."
"Me neither," Hermione said slowly.
Neville swallowed. "Harry… isn't that what happened before? Before you… went somewhere else?"
Harry's stomach sank.
"Either you hear your name," Neville continued, voice trembling slightly, "or you start seeing things before you travel."
Luna tilted her head. "It's like the universe clearing its throat."
Everyone turned to her.
Harry let out a tired breath and stood. "Yeah. That sounds about right."
"Harry" Hermione started.
"I'm fine," he said gently, though none of them believed it. "I just need sleep."
He looked around at their worried faces, forcing a small smile. "Goodnight."
Sleep didn't help.
Harry woke feeling hollow, as if part of him were already elsewhere.
The next morning in the Great Hall, he ate mechanically, barely tasting his food. Ron and Hermione sat close, neither speaking much. Neville kept glancing at him, as though afraid he might vanish mid-bite.
Hermione's eyes flicked up toward the High Table.
Dumbledore was already watching.
Their gazes met. Hermione gave the smallest nod.
Dumbledore inclined his head in return.
After breakfast, Harry stood. "I'll… see you later."
Ron opened his mouth, then closed it. "Be careful, mate."
Harry managed a smile and turned away.
The gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office leapt aside before he even spoke.
Inside, the room was already full.
Dumbledore stood by his desk. McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout were gathered nearby. Sirius leaned against a bookshelf, arms crossed. Remus stood beside him, worry etched into his face. Elira Vael watched from near the Pensieve, its silvery surface already swirling.
Harry didn't say a word.
He walked forward, shoulders heavy, sat in the chair, and withdrew the memory with practiced ease.
With a tired nod, he let it fall into the Pensieve.
The silver surface rippled and they all started to watch the memory.