A/N: I know this is terribly confusing. So, I'm gonna make things clear. EVERYTHING that happened in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is connected to this story EXCEPTthat the Death Eaters did NOT go to Hogwarts. Dumbledore did NOT die. Malfoy and Severus had NOTHING to do with any death—yet. Anyway, I hope you can get that clear. This is the new first chapter that doesn't clash with Dumbledore being dead or alive.

Chapter 1- The Choice V.2

"Severus…"

"Severus... please…."

"Avada Kedavra!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Dripping with sweat, Harry clutched his blanket and wiped the dripping sweat on his face. Expecting his uncle to come storming into his bedroom, breaking down the door along the way, he was very surprised not to hear a single sound, not even a slight grunt coming from outside.

Of course. He thought. I put the Imperturbable Charm around my room. Whew. That totally saved me from being thrown out to danger. Not like it matters. Why?

Harry is seventeen years old this year. Seventeen, the number in which is plus 10 of the most powerful magical number, seven. Seventeen almost meant freedom, as in doing magic out of school. An elated splurge of joy came. The Choice of going back to school? Or to go after the Hocruxes? That decision came again and the feeling of being elated went as fast as it came.

Then another thought came. The dream he had been having for more than a month. A horrible, death-terrifying dream, of Dumbledore being hit by an Unforgivable Curse by Severus Snape. The flash of green light, an unforgettable flash of green light in his dreams.

He was terribly confused. Why am I dreaming this? Will this happen? NO! It will and shall never happen!

His headache came back again. He pressed one hand against his head and knocked it. What is wrong with me?

A twinge of guilt squeezed him as he got up abruptly and the letter from Ron dropped on to the ground. The letter which invited him to spend the rest of the summer with him:

Dear Harry,

How are you doing? I know you don't want to come back to Hogwarts, but to find the

Hocruxes. But no matter what, we will support you and will follow you. That is final. Hermione

is coming here at The Burrow late afternoon. Please come and stay at my house too. But you

might want to come later. About a mile from my house, there is a mansion on sale at a very

high price. The people who are interested are making a lot of noise even from a mile away.

Mum is making a terrible fuss of it. Hermione insisted on coming despite the noise. I hope you

are not as stubborn. If you agree, please oowl me back, If nought…owl me back anywayz. My

spelling iz nought thatt baad iisn'tt it? I am uzing one of the maagicc quuillz in Fred's and

George's store which

correctz ur spelling. Great isn't it? Pleez reply sooon. Myy moom made a

cakee four you. 'ope

you like it.

Roonil

What am I going to do? Harry thought for a moment, reread the letter again and suddenly saw something. He took out a long piece of parchment and a quill and started scribbling:

Dear Ron,

I think the spell on your quill has worn out. I suggest you buy another one. Anyway, I have

made my decision. I am going back to Hogwarts, but during the Hogsmeade weekends, I am

apparating to a house. Remember you mentioned the house a mile away? I am going to buy it.

That is final. No arguments. That way, I can be near your house. On Hogsmeade weekends, I

will apparate there and go and search for Hocruxes. That way too, I can concentrate on

studies during school time (Not like I want to). I look forward to going to your house and

seeing you and Hermione---and Ginny. I will apparate there tomorrow afternoon. Keep Hedwig

at your house.

Harry

Harry reread the letter, making sure that no details were missing. Feeling satisfied, and thinking that he made an excellent decision, he tied the letter to Hedwig's leg and gave her an owl treat. He opened the window and Hedwig soared into the sky and screeched loudly.

"THAT DARN OWL!" Uh oh…Harry thought, he definitely didn't put the Imperturbable Charm in the sky.

Uncle Vernon stormed into the room. "WHERE'S THAT DARN OWL? ONE MORE TIME IT MAKES A NOISE, I AM THROWING YOU AND YOUR DARN OWL OUT!"

"Oh, I don't have to worry then. I have already sent a letter so she is away. She can't make a noise you can hear."

"YOU SENT A LETTER USING YOUR OWL?HOW IF THE NEIGHBOURS SEE?WHAT WILL—"

Harry lifted up his wand and said, "Hmmm… I wonder what is for breakfast, if is nothing nice, which is expected, I can zap up some nice hot bacon and eggs…"

"But…but you can't do the… the m word out of school…you can't…"Uncle Vernon stuttered.

Harry smirked. "Oh yes, I forgot. I am seventeen in the wizarding world. And seventeen means that," He looked at his uncle. "We can do magic out of school."

His uncle cleared his throat. "Well, um, I will make sure you Aunt will cook something delicious to eat. hem hem. And, err…when are your friends coming to pick you up to go over to their house?"

Harry smiled and said, "Oh, you don't have to worry. They are not coming. You don't have the pretend to be perfect relatives. I will use magic and go over to Ron's house tomorrow afternoon.

Uncle Vernon replied in a very stiff voice, very obvious that he was trying very hard to control his temper, "Well-ok.You-better-start-packing. I-shall-leave-now. I-do-not-wish-to-disturb-you."

With that, his walked stiffly out of the room, his fingers clenched in his fists so tightly that Harry was sure it was bound to stay red after that. As soon as he closed the door, Uncle Vernon screamed, "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Wow. He certainly let his anger very loudly. Harry grinned. It was a pleasure to tease them.

A/N: This is the first chapter. Version two. So, I really hope you won't get confused.