“He’s waking up! Harry! Harry? Can you hear me? It’s your mum.� A woman’s voice penetrated through his hazy mind as his eyes opened, a bright light blinding him for a moment before his vision came into focus and a red-haired woman with green eyes slid into view.

“Mum?� he croaked, his voice low and scratchy as if unused for a while. “I thought you were dead.� The woman’s face turned into alarm.

“Of course not, sweetie. Do you need anything?� She stroked his forehead, rearranging his black bangs to push them out of his face to no avail.

“Just let us know if you need anything, Harry.�

A man’s voice spoke this time, and Harry turned his head to see a male who looked like him, except with hazel eyes, staring back at him with a concerned expression. “We missed you terribly. Sirius will need to be called, he’ll want to know he’s alive.� He kissed the woman before taking off.

“Sirius? Bellatrix killed him!� The boy of eighteen abruptly sat up, his heart thundering so much that the monitor near his bed was beeping like a bomb that was ready to explode. “And you and dad were murdered by Voldemort. I had to live with the Dursleys all my life.�

“Harry relax. You must have had a dream while in your coma.� Coma. The word resounded in his head like a bell. His mother gently pushed him back down. “There is no Bellatrix nor Voldemort. Your father and I got no more than a few scratches in the accident. Sirius was not even there. Calm down, love.� She made no mention of the Dursleys, but her face had scrunched up as if she’d tasted something sour at the name.

Silence fell for a few moments after that, until James returned with the same grim expression he had when he stepped out. “Sirius will be here soon.� He pulled up a chair next to his son and regarded him as if unsure whether or not Harry were mentally unstable. “Have you told him, Lily?� he asked his wife without turning to her.

“No.�

“Very well,� he sighed and looked past Harry’s head. “You have been in a coma for nearly eight years, son. We were in a bad accident and you were thrown headfirst onto the pavement.� Flashes of green light sparkled behind the boy’s eyes, but now he wasn’t sure if it was the killing curse of his dream or the green light of traffic he was remembering. His father continued, his voice quiet and unsteady. “You weren’t supposed to make it back to us. The doctors told us you would never come back. We had the option of taking you off of life support, but Sirius encouraged us not to give up hope. You do remember who Sirius is, right?� he asked as an afterthought.

Harry stared off into space, disbelieving at all of this. “My godfather,� he replied in a hushed tone. “What about Hogwarts?� The shared look on his parents’ faces told him they had no idea what a Hogwarts was, which could only mean that the past eight years he had spent dreaming about a fictional place with fictional people.

Just then a man with shaggy black hair barged into the room, a wide grin lighting his handsome face as he descended upon Harry, embracing him in a tight bear hug. “I knew you would wake up!� Harry returned his hug, though not as enthusiastically, while the thoughts that his friends, the magic, none of it existed. “Do you remember Hermione and Ron?� He nodded in response to Sirius’ question but it hadn’t penetrated his brain. “Good! They remember you too, and they’re coming to visit. They should be here in a few moments.�

“Sirius,� Lily prodded Harry’s godfather, still with the same look of trepidation. “I believe the three of us need to talk and leave Harry to his rest.�

“Rest? But the boy’s had eight years’ worth of--Oh, I suppose you’re quite right.� He caught her expression and gave his godson another hug before trudging out.

“We’ll be right outside if you need us, love.� Lily pressed her lips to his forehead before following Sirius; James ruffled his hair with a grin before accompanying the pair. It was maybe ten or fifteen minutes, during which time nurses and a doctor - who resembled the Tom Riddle of his dream - came to check him out, when a bushy-haired brunette young woman and a red-haired young man came into the room. Harry automatically grinned as they both wordlessly clung to him.

“Oh Harry! We’ve missed you!� Hermione stated as she pulled back, her eyes watering with the threat of tears. “We came by as often as we could, you know. Ron said it was pointless to talk to you, but I did anyway. I could have sworn a couple of times that your finger twitched. Oh how wonderful you’re back with us!� All of this was said in one breath, and Ron shook his head.

“Hermione, let the man breathe, he’s only just woken up. How are you, mate?� He sat down at the foot of Harry’s bed.

“About as alright as anyone would be having been in a coma for eight years and thinking they were a wizard all that time, destined to defeat a Dark Lord of magic with the help of his magic school’s headmaster and his friends.� The two just stared at him, their smiles waning slightly. “Well I don’t still believe all that if that’s what you’re worried about. So do you want to hear about it or not? You two were in it.�

“Of course, Harry.� Hermione’s grin returned and she sat on the other side of the bed, her and Ron’s fingers touching. Pretending not to have noticed he launched into the story; life at the Dursley’s, finding out he was a wizard, the Sorting Hat…

He went on and on until he finished with the Battle of Hogwarts and his friends were staring at him, wide-eyed, throughout the whole thing. When he was finished, Ron whistled. “That’s amazing. You could write a book just from that.�

“Ronald! He was in a coma, be sensitive!� Hermione hissed at him. Harry laughed; they were exactly as he had dreamed them to be.

“I’ll admit, I was disappointed to find out Hogwarts and magic weren’t real, but at least I have my family.� At Ron’s hurt look he grinned. “That includes you, you git. Now,� he nodded toward their entwined hands. “Gonna tell me about that or will I just have to use my imagination?�



Harry woke with a start, his breathing was laboured and his chest squeezed as he remembered the dream he just had. His parents had been alive, Sirius had been alive… And yet all of his memories and Hogwarts had been a lie; nothing more than a story he’d concocted in his subconscious mind. He reached for his glasses and put them on, eyeing Ron’s room in darkness. Ron’s snores could be heard from the next bed and Harry slipped out of his own, quietly making his way down into the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley was still bustling about, sniffles could be heard every now and then. At first he just awkwardly stood there, unsure of whether or not he wanted to intrude. He didn’t have much time to contemplate this however, for she turned and at last noticed him.

“Harry, dear! Are you alright?� She wiped away a stray tear and pulled out a seat of the long dining table for him to sit in.

“Uh, yeah. Just had a weird dream, can’t fall asleep again.� Sitting sideways, he rested an arm on the back of the chair as Mrs. Weasley just stood there. “Are you?� Straight away he realised this was a stupid question; having just lost one of her sons a mere three months ago, she couldn’t be okay.

“Oh yes, yes. Just thinking about Fred, is all.� Her lower lip quivered as more tears threatened to fall. She gulped and shut her eyes, taking in a deep breath before reopening them. “I’m so sorry, dear. Would you like some tea?�

He nodded, “Yes, thank you.� While she made the tea, he sat there staring off into space, thinking about his dream. His sense of reality was off, and he couldn’t answer one question: Was that reality, or was this reality?