Sixth year, so the characters are mostly sixteen. Well, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Raye, anyway. Well, actually, Raye… nevermind.

~*~

Harry stretched, and as he did so he felt his vertebrae chink. Sixteen. He was sixteen and going to be leaving for the Burrow soon. The threats of the Order of the Phoenix seemed to be working, as Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were scared witless of him and stayed out of his way. Harry bounded out of bed, relieved he hadn't had any fits or dreams last night. Aunt Petunia had screamed aloud when Harry responded shortly to Vernon's questions when they discovered him thrashing in bed and "having funny turns" and "abnormalities."

Feeling rather sorry about breaking them, Harry pulled the black cloth from two objects on his bedside table. A lump rose in his throat as he fingered the handle of a knife and stared at his multiple reflections in a broken mirror. He stared grimly, feeling that, if it would be the last thing he did he would kill Lestrange Bellatrix, use Avada Kedavra if he had to. Sirius Black…Underneath the mirror, he worked out the newspaper article Hermione had sent him, the Daily Prophet.

Sirius Black: Wronged and Righted?

The Ministry of Magic sheepishly admits to the hunting of the criminal Sirius Black

to be an injustice towards the said party. It is discovered that Black had been

framed by a Death Eater by the name of Peter Pettigrew, for whom Black had

been convicted of murdering. Harry Potter and Albus Dumbeldore, among many

other witches and wizards, have admitted to harboring and hiding Sirius Black.

Unfortunately, along with this realization came the great pains of knowing that the

innocent man has…

Harry averted his eyes from the rest of the article. Come to think of it, what was to happen with Buckbeak now? He rewrapped these items in the black cloth and placed them in his trunk. Getting his things into the living room was no little task, but he did it without the help of the Dursleys. Petunia and Vernon stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room, as far away from the fireplace as they could, and Dudley absolutely refused to leave his bedroom. Suddenly, a figure hit the fireplace. Harry had thoughtfully removed the electric fire.

"Hello, Harry!" Ron grinned out at him. Mr. Weasley, then Fred and George, also appeared.

"Hello." Mr. Weasley smiled. "Alright then, ready to go?" He turned towards Petunia and Vernon and gave them a nod. As he was about to light the fire, Fred and George stopped him.

"Aw, c'mon, Dad. We can do that." Mr. Weasley rolled his eye good naturedly and stepped back as the twins pulled out their wands and suddenly a large fire cackled in the grate.

"They've been just itching to do magic just to show that they can without getting a notice," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry's mouth twitched, quirking in a smile as he watched the flames turn green with floo powder.

Shifting his things into the fire with Fred, or maybe George, Harry stepped back and Fred, or George, shouted, "To the burrow!"

Ron stepped in with Hedwig and George, or maybe Fred. "The burrow!"

"Well, see you, then." Harry thought he saw Aunt Petunia nod, though Uncle Vernon just glowered at him. Harry stepped into the flames. "The Burrow!" The green flames whirled around him. Falling out of the Weasleys' fireplace, Harry looked up questioningly at Ron. "Couldn't your brothers have just disapparated?"

"No, Mum forbids it for another month, after they apparated on the dining table and squashed the chicken for the fifth time…Doesn't mean they don't do it when she's not around, of course."

"Hello, Harry." Harry stared bluntly at Percy Weasley.

"Um, hello Percy." Ron was watching anxiously, remembering the last year. The same thought seemed to have crossed Percy's mind and he blushed. As he turned away, Harry whispered to Ron, "He's made up with your Mum and Dad then?"

"Yeah, he came back saying something about how he shouldn't have doubted him, and checking to make sure Dad wasn't still seriously injured." Ron snorted, and Harry understood it, as Percy hadn't questioned about his father's health for months after the attack on Mr. Weasley.

"This way, Raye." Ginny Weasley suddenly poked her head around the corner. "Oh, hello Harry. This is Raye. She transferred from Japan to Hogwarts. Raye, Harry Potter."

"Hello." Harry noticed her gaze dart to his forehead, but only for a second as she smiled at him. "I've heard quite a bit from you from the Weasleys." The smile faded as she asked seriously. "You witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort?"

Harry tried not to stare, but it was difficult. "Yeah…" She said Voldemort's name.

Mrs. Weasley suddenly raised her voice. "DINNER!"

As they hurried to the table, Raye said quietly, "It's because of his return that I'm here, you know. I would rather have stayed in Japan…" Harry stared openly.

"Why then…?"

"On Dumbeldore's requ… Well, it's safer to be with Albus Dumbeldore," she finished lamely. Dumbeldore's request. On Dumbeldore's request? Harry pondered the thought.