AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've decided to try my hand at a Harry Potter fic finally after reading the 6th book. If you have not read it yet, do not read this unless you won't mind the ending being completely ruined. I'm still in a transitional faze so if you enjoy it and would like me to continue posting the chapters, by all means review and tell me about it.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter. Do not sue.
Summary: This takes place literally right after the 6th book ends. Harry Potter must locate the last of the Horcruxes if he wants to kill Voldemort and suddenly realizes just how complicated it can get without Dumbledore to aid him in his journey.
Prologue
Ethwyn Willows stood with a delicate, gentle hand resting on the doorway to her home; her fierce, hunter-green eyes large and round as they followed the soaring, beautifully colored phoenix as it made its way down to the earth. A shiver ran up and down her spine and she dared not blink or else she might loose the bird from view. Whatever would cause Dumbledore to send his cherished Fawkes on such a dark, windy, summer night could not be good.
Holding her breath, she held out her forearm for the phoenix to perch upon once he had reached the girl. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes and gently nuzzled her hand.
The girl with the burnt-honey colored hair, styled in a short bob on top her head trembled as she removed a small piece of parchment from his left leg. It was no larger than a finger's length long and yet the power it contained was more frightening than the Dark Lord Voldemort himself.
Shaky fingers unrolled the note slowly and she released the breath she had been unconsciously still holding. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she refused to blink again while the letters formed into words inside her mind.
To My Lovely Miss Willows,
I have taken Harry into the cave to search for one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. It is as you and I have feared all along. Severus Snape will betray me tonight. Do not fear; all is how it should be.
I believe in you. You must believe in yourself and the magic you posses.
Sincerely Yours, Now and Forever,
Former Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
"No..."
The letter fell from her hands and she covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks freely. Fawkes fluttered to the ground in front of her as she slowly sank downward. Silently, she sobbed into her arms and knees, the miserable words replaying over and over again inside her mind.
The house behind her seemed to call the young girl back into its warm embrace and she responded without argument. The beautiful phoenix followed her in and perched himself gracefully on her kitchen table. Ethwyn sat beside him and stared ahead at nothing in particular with dry eyes. The answers to her many questions were written in small, slanted scroll in the letter she had left in the doorway.
"Thank you, Fawkes." She stroked the bird kindly. "Go now and see your master to his grave."
Allowing a single, crystal tear to slide down his face and onto her resting hand, the phoenix took flight.
Ethwyn sat for a few more moments, allowing the healing tear to dry into her outstretched palm. Somehow she managed a mischief smile.
"Forgive me, Mother."
Chapter 1
Harry Potter sat inside Number Four, Privet Drive as the rain poured heavy buckets outside. It was cool for a June day and he remembered it being much nicer when he was leaving Hogwarts two days earlier. He was only supposed to stay with the Dursley's for a few more days until Fleur and Bill's wedding when Lupin and Tonks would come and pick him up. Due to Bill's injuries, the couple had decided upon a small ceremony at the Burrow. It was to be afterward that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had decided they would go to Godric's Hollow.
The soon-to-be seventeen year old boy stood up from his four poster and walked over to the window. His trunk and all of his things were still packed and next to his door. Hedwig was perched upon the sill outside keeping watch.
He found himself becoming more and more entrapped by his aunt and uncle's little house with every passing minute spent there. Try as he might, he couldn't help but find himself dwelling in the nightmare that was Dumbledore's death. He remembered being paralyzed by fear as the old man fell to the ground in a heap; his blood running cold through his veins. Seeing him die reminded him of when Sirius battled with Bellatrix Lestrange at the Ministry a year before and of the negative results following.
Everyone in his life that had seriously tried to protect him had been killed in the process. His parents were dead, Sirius was dead, and now Dumbledore. Who else would Voldemort decide to violently tear away from him? Who else would tragically become "collateral damage" in a war that would never end? Would Ron or Hermione be next? Would Ginny? What about Lupin or Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? What about the Dursleys...though Harry wouldn't be too upset to be finally rid of them.
"I know what I have to do, Hedwig," he started softly, rubbing the snow white owl's head. "It's not fear of death holding me back, either. Without Dumbledore, I don't know how I can win."
He wasn't looking for an answer, obviously, but by simply saying it aloud, he felt somehow a little better.
Staring out the window, he glared menacingly at the rain and somehow envied it for having such freedom. The rain didn't care who it fell upon or what it ruined; it didn't need to. For instance, it didn't mind at all that it was drowning Aunt Petunia's garden or Mrs. Figg's perfectly cut grass. It wasn't until he continued looking for damaged goods that he located a seemingly drenched, young girl walking down the street away from his house, shivering to death beneath what appeared to be a thin, red robe.
He cocked his head curiously to the figure and followed her with his vibrant green eyes. She was the first form of life he had seen since his aunt and uncle had shut him up in his room and had only been up a few times a day to bring him a plate of food.
There was a loud bang and explosion from the opposite direction and he spun around so quickly he nearly fell off his seat. Glasses askew, he pushed open the window and hung his head outside, rain droplets blurring his vision, and saw what appeared to be thick, black smoke clouds coming up from one of the houses down the street near the main road.
Downstairs, the front door burst open and his large uncle raced outside, his wife hot on his heels. All around him doors were opening and people were gasping in surprise and shock. The only person not suddenly taking a great interest in the burning house was the girl walking in the opposite direction. He followed her with blurry eyes until she came to the bend in the road.
Almost as if she could feel him watching her from so far away, she turned her head just before she completely disappeared and her hood fell backwards from a sudden gust of wind. Because of the distance between them, he could only make out – for sure – short, darker-colored hair and big, round eyes filled with...was that a hint of mischief beneath her gaze? She smiled up at him in a way that told him she was responsible for the accident and continued walking on as if nothing had happened.
"Hedwig, did you see that?"
The owl hooted and cocked its head in reply.
"Yeah, I did too."
With a sudden boost of energy, Harry leapt to his feet, grabbed his Muggle jacket, tore open the door, and raced down the stairs; rushing past a yelling Vernon and distressed Petunia. Ignoring them, he darted out the front door and began his chase down the street, moving against the current of people who seemed to be drawing closer to the burning house.
He had been by the house many times before but never did he actually think anyone lived there. The house always seemed to be empty; never a light on or fresh tire marks in the driveway. Once about four or so years previous, he saw an older looking man wearing a charcoal suit, carrying a big suitcase, enter and then leave several hours later. Besides that, he never saw any signs of life around there. If nothing else the lack of obvious owners irritated his uncle to no end because the small building was one of the nicest on the street; perfectly painted shutters and freshly cut grass at all times.
As the "Chosen One" rounded the corner he had seen the girl do moments before, he was somehow not surprised to find no one there and nothing giving off the impression anyone had walked on that sidewalk all day. The air smelt of dew and the concrete was slick from the heavy raindrops that had fallen what felt like minutes before. Now nothing but the moon was shining down upon the little street. Suddenly feeling defeated, he stood for a while to catch his breath before turning back.
He trudged back up the stairs and into his room without a word to his uncle or aunt's red-faced protests ("Where did you go?" "Don't track mud up my stairs!"). Shutting the door silently, he let the jacket fall from her shoulders and toppled over onto his small bed. His shoes still tied to his feet and glasses askew, he closed his eyes and pretended that nothing had ever happened and he was in a small cottage with his parents, Sirius, and Dumbledore.
Harry spent the better part of three days staring out his window and sleeping, only taking about an hour out of the day to eat and bathe. He wanted to see the girl in the red robe again if for no other reason than he enjoyed seeing someone just as miserable as he was. It was horrible, yes, but he didn't care at the moment. It didn't seem to bother him that he was finding comfort in someone he didn't know at all's misery.
He had been dozing with his forehead pressed up against the curtain-covered glass when he heard a small rustle of leaves from below. His eyes flew open and he flung the window wide, almost immediately wishing he hadn't. The sun shone directly into his enlarged pupils and he fell backward off of the chair, only narrowly avoiding slamming his head into the corner of his desk.
The boy groaned and began to massage the back of his head as soon as he realized how idiotic that must have looked to whomever or whatever it was outside. He sat up and adjusted his glasses before returning his attention to the noise.
"That sounded painful," came a very female voice with a hint of laughter in her tone. "You okay, Harry?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He leaned far over the side of the windowsill and squinted his eyes to see the Auror. "Hi, Tonks."
The woman with vivid scarlet hair smiled up at him and motioned a hello. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah, give me a minute."
Closing and latching the windows tightly, he raced over to his trunk and swung it open. He would never be returning to his house at Number Four, Privet Drive and knew if anything magical was left there, it would be either exposed by one of Dudley's moronic friends (or, perhaps, Dudley himself) or thrown out and hence get into some inexperienced Muggle's hands.
The first thing he stuffed into a much smaller bag he had found in the room when he moved into it five years before was his invisibility cloak (thankfully, Hagrid had found it near the Astronomy Tower before anyone else and given it back to him before the funeral). Deciding that his sixth year textbooks might come in handy later on, he threw those in as well. Any other obviously magical trinkets were placed on top and, thankfully, the rest of the bulk consisted of sweaters and pants, which he decided he would leave behind.
But then he turned back to his bed and saw, hanging from one of the posters of his bed, the golden locket that has put him into so much pain. Even if it wasn't a real Horcrux, he knew he couldn't leave it behind. By simply having it in his pocket he was somehow able to keep himself from exploding. He couldn't leave it behind. In spite of everything, he somehow felt attached to it and by leaving it behind he would be somehow letting Professor Dumbledore down; he snatched it up and thrust it into his front jeans pocket.
His wand in his back pocket, broom in one hand, and bag in the other, he said a silent farewell to the bedroom he had inhabited for half a decade before shutting it quietly and moving downstairs. Aunt Petunia was standing in the kitchen making sandwiches for Uncle Vernon and Dudley when he got to the bottom floor and she hardly looked up to acknowledge his presence. The other two were sitting in the living room, obviously engrossed by some sort of mindless television program.
"I'm leaving," he declared loudly.
No one looked up or pretended to hear him.
He felt rage build up inside of him for his only blood relatives' lack of compassion. He was going to thank them for letting him stay with them and even go as far as apologize for ever being a burden to them; but standing there, arms length away from freedom, made him suddenly realize he didn't care.
Harry Potter thus left Number Four, Privet Drive for the final time without another word, knowing full well if he ever met his mother again she would understand why.
The Auror smiled brightly at him and her eyes shone a deep, vibrant purple. "It's good to see you."
"Yeah," he replied, trying very hard to not sound mad or upset with her; "I'm glad to be out of there."
"I can understand why..." She turned her head to look back at the house as they walked away and made a face of confusion. "I knocked and they wouldn't let me in."
"The purple eyes must have set them off." He paused. "Oh, and by the way, nice hair."
"Thanks," she laughed, "I'm trying something new."
She continued leading the boy until they were around the bend and out of any nosy neighbor's eye line.
"Did you get your Apparating license yet?"
"Not until July."
"That's okay." She grasped his upper arm firmly and gave a warm smile. "You've side-Apparated before, haven't you?"
Harry swallowed hard. "Yeah, with Dumbledore."
"Oh...I'm sorry." Tonks looked slightly abashed at the mention of the powerful wizard and blinked back the beginning of tears. "Well, then...you know the drill."
He only nodded in response and before he knew it, his body felt like it was being squeezed through a test tube, his lungs burning and eyes watering. However, as always, the pain was gone just as quickly as it appeared and when his vision cleared, he saw in front of him the wonderful sight of the Burrow. But just like the other night when he didn't find the girl around the bend, he was somehow not surprised to find himself not feeling as excited and comforted as he usually did when visiting one of his two best friends and his family. Speaking of family...
Memories of his short-lived relationship with the youngest of the Weasley children made his heart ache uncomfortably. He had feelings for her, yes, but he couldn't risk her getting hurt because of him. There was something else, though; something he hadn't wanted to say out loud. While being with Ginny made him feel normal and relaxed, there was just something about her innocense that made him almost afraid to talk to her. He wanted nothing more than to be with someone who would just understand without asking why – and he knew that Ginny would always support him without question – it was just something about the relationship that made him feel that he was almost dirtying something pure. She belonged with someone who didn't have so much history to choke down. It wasn't fair to ask her to give up her childhood for him. Even though they were only a year apart, the difference seemed like ages to the boy as his innocense, he believed, disappeared the night he found out his parents were murdered.
"Harry, you okay?"
His head snapped to the sound of Tonk's voice and he realized he had been fazing out.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
It didn't sound very convincing, but the witch has a feeling all would be revealed in due time.
"Okay then." She cleared her throat and began her saunter up to the house.
Harry followed after her slowly, taking in the scenery with a blank expression. The Burrow looked much different now than it had during the Christmas holiday; sunflowers and roses were in bloom and blossoming in big, thick trails leading up to the house and into the garden where a white archway was placed. There were birds flying overhead with bright-colored ribbons in their beaks and magically enchanted chairs and tables being set up under a beautifully decorated canopy of grapevines.
He looked up to the house and saw two people rushing forward to meet him halfway with big, bright smiles on their faces. The boy recognized them immediately.
"I'll meet you up there," Tonks started, giving a wave and picking up her pace to get to the building.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, leaping into his arms into a tight, warm embrace.
"Hi, mate," Ron said, hands shoved into his pockets with a newfound spring in his step.
Releasing the small girl, he couldn't help but smile as he saw her return to the redhead's side automatically.
"How are you two?"
"Well," the bushy-haired girl began with a wide grin on her face, "everything seems to be going according to plan."
"Yeah, even Fleur and Mom are getting along." Ron scratched the back of his neck and looked down. "Not necessarily with everyone else, but at least with each other."
Hermione chuckled softly. "Lupin's just gone to get the rest of the guests but should be back by tonight."
"The rest of the guests?" Harry repeated as if the language they were suddenly speaking was foreign. "Who else is coming that can't Apparate here?"
"Not so much a matter of Apparating here but rather telling people about it."
"It was so short notice that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley didn't really have a big opportunity to tell everyone; other Order members and such."
"Oh."
The three teenagers began the slow walk back up to the Burrow without saying anything more. They all wanted to say the same thing but continued to remain quiet, deciding later on that evening would be a better time to discuss the plan.
Someone screamed from inside and there was much commotion. Fear raising in all of their throats, the three leapt into a run and closed the distance between them and the house quickly. They burst in, the redhead leading the way, with staggered, harsh breathing to find everyone laughing and having a generally good time.
"What's wrong?" Ron demanded of the closest person to him, Ginny.
"Nothing's wrong. What did you do, run around the garden?"
"Who screamed?"
"Oh, it was just Mom. She was startled, that's all."
Ginny gave Harry a small smile before turning her eyes back to the chatter from across the room.
Relief swelled in his chest and the two behind him sighed comfortably. Ever since Dumbledore's death, they had all been at an uneasy peace; almost as if waiting for the second shoe to drop and kill one of them upon impact.
"Oh, Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley called motioning for all four to come closer.
A person clad in a red robe was standing beside her and once the older woman moved out of the way to greet him properly, he recognized the short, shining hair and large, round eyes almost immediately. She was smiling brilliantly at him revealing perfectly straight, white teeth and deep, luscious, crimson lips. Her almond eyes were an intense shade of hunter-green and the same hint of mischief he had seen the night the house has burnt to the ground was still there.
Mrs. Weasley hugged him tightly and grabbed his face to look at him properly. "How are you feeling? Any better? Have you been eating? You look so thin since I last saw you."
It was, of course, impossible for him to be any lighter in weight since last they were together seeing as how it was only about a week ago at the funeral, but he humored her nevertheless and nodded his head slowly in an attempt to answer all of her questions at the same time.
It appeared to work because she was smiling sadly down at him again, probably thinking he had been in a state of shock since it happened.
"Oh, I'm glad you three are here," she continued, motioning with her arms for everyone to crowd around. "I'd like you to meet the daughter of a very close friend of the Order's."
"Ethwyn Willows," the girl said kindly; "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."