Chapter 5

Harry Potter woke to the sound of scratching beneath his bed in the Gryffindor dormitory.

At first, he thought it was Ron playing a prank. But when he looked around, every bed was empty.

The room was silent.

“Ron?” Harry called.

No answer.

The scratching continued.

Scritch… scritch… scritch…

Harry grabbed his wand and pointed it at the darkness under his bed.

“Lumos.”

The light revealed pale fingers gripping the wooden frame from underneath.

Harry stumbled backward.

The fingers slowly pulled themselves away, vanishing into the shadows.

Heart pounding, Harry rushed into the corridor. The castle was empty. No students. No ghosts. No portraits.

The painted figures were gone too.

Then he noticed something written on the stone wall in dripping red letters:

YOU WERE NEVER THE BOY WHO LIVED.

A cold dread settled over him.

Harry ran to Dumbledore’s office. The door stood open.

Inside sat Dumbledore’s corpse, slumped in his chair, eyes wide with terror. A note rested in his hand.

Harry unfolded it.

It contained only one sentence:

Don’t let it see you when you wake up.

A voice whispered behind him.

“Too late.”

Harry turned.

Standing in the doorway was himself.

The other Harry smiled.

And then Harry woke up in his bed at Hogwarts.

Relieved, he sat upright—

and saw muddy footprints leading from beneath his bed to the edge of his pillow.