Harry Potter seems like a typical teen age boy. He spends his time cooped up in his ill-lit room waiting to hear from his friends, and he doesn't do anything or speak to anyone. To those who do not know him it would seem as though he has a bad case of teenage angst. Those who do know him, know better; that he is sad, depressed and alone.
In reality, Harry Potter is not a typical teen ager; he has nothing in common with boys his age in the normal world, because he is a wizard. But even other wizards are nothing like Harry Potter. He had been a hero (as the Boy-Who-Lived), a legend (as the Retriever-of-the-Sorcerer's-Stone), and even a madman (as the Sole-Believer-that-the-Dark-Lord-has-Come-Back-to-Power) in his past, in his future murder lay ahead.
Because Harry Potter knew that he had to either be killed at the hands of the villainous Dark Lord, Voldemort, or slaughter him. This is one of the many reasons Harry is so sad and so alone and hurt, only one of the many reasons that depress poor young Harry.
As much as Harry had thought of the prophecy concerning him, he had thought more about the death of his godfather Sirius Black, a good man and a great friend. It is all my fault, Harry thought bitterly, if it weren't for me I'd be complaining about lack of mail from Sirius. And not for the first time, Harry Potter, the legend, hero, and madman, cried. He wept bitterly, finally crying himself to sleep.
He awoke in the dark mysterious netherworld of dreams, in a cold dark and deserted street, there were large houses to either side of the street marking some sort of royalty, but it was too hard to tell whose houses they belonged to in the dark. He could see a man with a long mane of dark hair and electrifying blue eyes, with a pale complexion, he had a goatee, with streaks of grey; he was just standing in the middle of the road, obviously thinking. As the man pulled out his wand from his dark robes, about to Disapparate, a hissing voice could be heard. "Fidelius Vorn, the spinner of webs. I expected to find you here."
Fidelius Vorn, the man in dark robes with blue eyes and black hair, spun around quickly, pointing his wand at this unexpected visitor. "I must say I have wondered if you would show up, Lord Voldemort." Fidelius said.
"The webs you have spun, Fidelius. Neither the Daily Prophet nor the Ministry of Magic or any of the magical community knows what you are doing. You have covered up everything with all those webs of lies and deceit." Voldemort hissed.
Voldemort continued, "It is quite a feat actually, this hasn't been tried since the worlds were divided, which was many centuries ago. You would think that only a fool would try to accomplish this though."
"Good thing Albus asked me to do it then, but fools tend to get the job done." Fidelius answered quickly.
"Spinner of Webs, Master of Deceit, Righter of Wrongs, and the Man who almost United the Worlds of Magic and Muggle; you are all of these Vorn, and you are still nothing. And will always be known as nothing. Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort uttered his spell, and a jet of bright green light hit Fidelius. The good man toppled over, dead, before he even hit the ground.
"This is how the great Dark Lord alters the war, by the killing of Fidelius Vorn. This is the end of Spinner, and the end of any war effort from Dumbledore. My victory is inevitable." The man who had most likely destroyed any chances for the redemption of the world laughed and his high pitched laugh could be heard throughout the dark night sky. With a bright flash of light Voldemort was there no longer.
Harry Potter woke up out of breath and scared for his life. His lightning scar was throbbing and he felt as though his head were about to split into two pieces. As his quick breathing became regular, his brain raced back to the dream he had just experienced, a dream of death and evil and loss of hope.
To his embarrassment, Harry had not been practicing his Occlumency, at all, and this was the reason he had been having nightmares this summer almost regularly. The reason he had been able to see Fidelius Vorn's death was because he was connected to Voldemort, on that fateful night in Godric's Hollow, Voldemort's curse had not killed Harry, but had instead forged a passageway into the other's mind. He didn't know whether his presence had been detected or not, but Voldemort had learned of this subconscious weakness of Harry's, and had used it against him by taunting him with Sirius's pain, luring him into a trap, trying to learn the contents of the prophecy.
He had to tell Professor Dumbledore, as much as he hated to, he had to tell him about his vision, partly because he had promised to keep him informed, and partly because it might be a huge turning point in the war, for the worse or the better, he did not know. This cold blooded murder had to be made known, it was too important to keep Dumbledore uninformed. After many scratch outs, and throwing a ways of parchment, Harry finally thought that his letter was good enough to send:
Dear Professor Dumbledore,
I had another dream, it is incredibly important that we discuss its contents sometime before the beginning of term. I will not write any more on here, except that it is imperative that you know what happened tonight.
Your Faithful Student,
H.P.
Harry tied this letter to Hedwig's leg. "Okay Hedwig, this goes to Professor Dumbledore, he's probably at school, make sure he gets it as soon as possible. It is very important that he receives this letter." With a hoot and a nibble of affection Hedwig was off. And Harry watched the snowy white bird's flight, as he wistfully wished he could leave the ground and his sorrows behind while he flew to higher heights and joy. And Harry fell asleep dreaming of clouds and flying and freedom, relieved, for a short while at least, of the terror that Lord Voldemort was spreading throughout the world.
Hedwig came back with a letter attached to her leg; Harry took the letter and read Professor Dumbledore's response:
I understand, and I will meet you as soon as I can. Be safe and discreet, do not leave Privet Drive until you have an escort.
Writing Truthfully,
Professor Dumbledore
"Well that was short; how peculiar of Dumbledore to be curiously vague and to have sent such a short reply." As Harry thought about the oddity of Professor Dumbledore's response, he realized it was his birthday, and he had not heard anything from his friends. This was indeed out of the ordinary, because they usually sent him cards and presents on his birthday.
Several uneventful hours later, somebody loudly knocked on the door. Harry's nagging, overweight, obnoxious whale of an uncle yelled up at him, "Potter! Get down here!" Harry slowly walked down the stairs, partly to annoy his rude uncle, and partly because he was shocked someone had come to see him during the holiday.
It was Mad-Eye Moody. He was wearing a purple bowler hat, with a matching waist coat with bright green pants. Alastor wasn't looking any better in his senile years, his eye still swiveled in its socket too quickly, and it seemed that not only did he have loads upon loads of scars, but also he had a large amount of wrinkles. But he was a friend. And any friend was welcome during his summer stay at the Dursley's house.
"Well, Harry, are you going to invite your guest inside, or just leave him standing in the cold?" Vernon gritted his teeth, vividly remembering Mad-Eye's threat at the end of term at the King's Cross Station.
"Come on inside, Professor. Can I help you with something?" Harry asked politely.
"No thank you Potter. I actually came to escort you. You will be staying at the Weasley's for the rest of the summer." Harry tuned out the rest of what Mad-Eye was saying—he was staying at the Weasley's all summer! He would finally be rid of the Dursleys and their stares and unkind words and utter hatred of his magical abilities.
"Well get going, Potter. We're leaving as soon as you are packed." Mad-Eye smiled, knowing Harry's inner joy of finally leaving his dreaded family.
Harry jumped up three steps at a time, quickly opening his door and throwing his possessions (the few that he had) into his trunk. His schoolbooks, his robes, he kept his wand (after all one never knows), he put socks, clothes, the spare change he had, all was put in the trunk. Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage and his trunk and quickly ran back down the stairs with a big smile on his face, his first smile in a long while.
"Alright then, don't want to keep the others waiting. Let's be off." Mad-Eye grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage and started walking.
"Um, goodbye Uncle Vernon, I'll see you at the end of term." Harry said politely. Vernon Dursley just grunted and Harry ran to catch up with Mad-Eye.
"So, er, are we taking the Knight Bus?" Harry asked, hoping he wouldn't have to ride the ill-driven vehicle ever again.
"Oh no, Potter. Arthur got a Ministry car for us to use." Mad-Eye replied.
They were both silent while walking to the park, and when they turned the corner with the park in view, Harry saw a black car with tinted windows, it looked rather small (but he knew there was an expansion spell on it to make it more comfortable on the inside). But more importantly than the car, he saw Remus Lupin and Hermione Granger along with Fred and George Weasley sitting at the picnic tables. Harry was overjoyed to see his friends, and apparently they were glad to see him too, because they all looked up and yelled, "Harry!" and ran towards him.
"Hey Harry! It is good to see you mate, how have you been holding up?" George asked. Is that George, or is it Fred? It is so hard to tell with the Weasley twins, Harry thought.
"Yeah mate, did the Dursley's lay off during your stay?" Fred questioned. That might be Fred, thought Harry.
"It is good to see you Harry." Remus Lupin said quietly, a good friend and companion, although he looked ill and more shabby with dark circles underneath his eyes, most likely because the full moon had only been several days ago.
"Hey Harry." Hermione said, before enveloping him in a huge sisterly hug. "How have you been?"
"I've been alright, it is good to see all of you again." Harry said quietly.
Mad-Eye started the car which let out a purple-colored gas, and everybody piled in.
Soon they were at the Burrow, and Harry's happiness rose like a helium-filled balloon at seeing his home, where he truly belonged. It is good to be here, thought Harry, finally with my true family, finally I am with the people who actually love me. Hermione and Harry grabbed their trunks and Mad-Eye drove the Ministry car swiftly back to the Ministry. Fred and George were nowhere in sight, they had left to go experiment their products in their room. Everything was so right, I feel so at home, Harry thought, and for the first time in a long time, he truly was.
"Harry! Hermione! It is so good to see you dears!" The over exuberant Weasley-clan leader, Mrs. Weasley yelled, "No need to carry those, Ron and Ginny can take them up the stairs for you."
Ron and Ginny, the youngest Weasley siblings, quickly came from the kitchen to run out to the greeting hall to hug their friends and grab their baggage.
"It's good to see you mate." Ron said. "It has been such a bore with most of the family gone."
"Yeah, after Fred and George moved out, it was a bit too quiet for my liking." Ginny said.
"Where are they staying?" Harry asked.
"They have a flat above their shop in Diagon Alley, you should see the shop mate it is absolutely amazing!" Ron said excitedly.
"Ron! Ginny! Put Harry and Hermione's trunks in your rooms, we are about to eat dinner!" Mrs. Weasley yelled from the kitchen.
"Okay Mum!" Ron and Ginny yelled in unison.
The two youngest Weasley children quickly ran up the long winding Weasley staircase with Harry and Hermione's baggage, and Harry and Hermione filed into the kitchen.
"It is so good to see you Harry, Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley said excitedly while she set the table. "How have your summers' been?"
"Mine was excellent, my Mum and Dad took me to Belgium, and we went to a dragon reserve. It was fascinating to see all the different species like the Iron Belly, and Short-Snout up close." Hermione said.
Both Mrs. Weasley and Hermione looked at Harry sympathetically, they both knew that Harry's relatives didn't much like him, but since Sirius's death Harry had been depressed and introspective.
"I got to read a lot, I finished all of my summer homework." Harry said to break the awkward silence.
"That's good Harry." Hermione said. Mrs. Weasley nodded in agreement.
Right on cue Ron and Ginny walked into the kitchen.
"What are we having Mum?" Ron asked.
"We are having bangers and mash, dressing, turkey, lamb chops, beef, pork and salad." Mrs. Weasley said.
"It sounds good." Ron said.
The food looked delicious, and it was. It was scrumptious, every single bite of it. Every one had had their fill and could not eat another bite.
"Now that we are all done, we should have some dessert." Mrs. Weasley said.
Then all the lights dimmed slowly and in came a huge cake that continually grew until the top of the cake was a quarter of an inch from the ceiling. The cake had sixteen candles and in green icing it wrote over and over again, 'Happy Birthday Harry!' The candles were charmed to sing the 'Happy Birthday' song in high-pitched squeaky voices. This was truly a birthday to remember: Harry had never had a birthday party before.
"Thank you everybody. This is so kind of you all to throw me a birthday party." Harry said.
Everyone was there, all the members of the Order of the Phoenix, except Mundungus Fletcher and Severus Snape. But everyone who counted was there, except Harry felt pained with the absence of his godfather, Sirius.
"Open your presents Harry!" Ron yelled.
"Yeah, birthday boy, open up your presents!" Tonks yelled. Her hair was a bright neon orange color for the occasion.
"Okay." Harry said, everybody cheered.
Harry's first present was from Mad-Eye, it was a book called, Two-Hundred Thousand Spells and Jinxes for the Magical Scholar. He also got a marble chess set from Ron, Quidditch: The Board Game from Hermione, which had enchanted pieces that actually flew. From Ginny he got a necklace with a lion attached to it, and from Tonks Harry received a pair of shoes that changed color and glowed in the dark. Hagrid had given Harry home-made candies, Harry wouldn't touch these out of experience with Hagrid's horrid cooking, and also an Augury quill. Fred and George had given him a gift basket with their best trademark joke products (including the Weasley Wizard Wheezes Fireworks and Portable Swamp), and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given him dark blue dress robes with stars on them, that actually emitted light! Professor Dumbledore had given Harry a watch with planets that spun around the watch, and somehow could also tell you the time. He had been in need of a watch since he had submerged his watch underwater in his fourth year.
"Thank you everyone. For coming tonight and for all the gifts, this was the first birthday party I've ever had." Harry said.
"Harry don't be so quick," Mrs. Weasley said, "Sirius had something he wanted to give to you."
Oh no, Harry thought, they wouldn't actually give me something that reminded me of the man that has haunted my dreams for these past weeks.
Mrs. Weasley handed him a small black box with white writing on it that had only two words on it: To Harry. Harry quickly wiped off a tear that had escaped his eye, and slowly opened the box. There was a cloth around something spherical, but there was a note. A note from Sirius! Harry thought. And he read the last note he would ever read from his godfather:
Dear Harry,
Well, you are sixteen and definitely have met up to the standards people have placed on you. I am so proud of you, you must know that, you have become such a great young man, and even though I haven't been able to see you grow as I have wished, I cannot wait to see you grow into the wonderful man you will become. Enough with the gibber gabber though, about your gift, hopefully you haven't taken your present out of its box yet. There is a story to it. As you may know your father was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as the Seeker, and was bloody good if I might add. But he was a bit of a show-off as you may know when he was young. And your mother, Lily well, didn't like him very much until our last year, James would go around playing with the Snitch on school grounds and she thought him a snob, I have absolutely no clue why however. He had been smitten with Lily since his first year, and by our seventh year he was determined that he would earn her respect and affection, nothing would deter him. And, well, she soon put behind her weird theories about your father's selfishness (Poppycock!) and they became quick friends. He took the Snitch that he used so often for practice and wrote on it 'Follow me' in bright green lettering. He had enchanted it to come back to him once Lily caught it. Once she had caught it she followed it to James and he proposed. I just thought that this would be a good memory of your parents for you to have for the rest of your life. Hope your sixteenth hasn't been too monotonous just remember to enjoy yourself. Today is your day.
Much love,
Sirius
Wow, thought Harry. That is something I will remember forever, thank you Sirius. Then Harry took out the packaging and saw to his surprise and pleasure the Snitch his father had used to propose to his mother. It still had the bright green lettering that said 'Follow me' on it. Oh my goodness. Harry put the Snitch into his pant pocket so he could look at it later.
"Thank you everyone. This has been wonderful, the most exciting birthday I have ever had." Harry said, but no one was looking at him, they were looking out the window, apparently Fred and George had let out their fireworks and in the dark night sky was a bright '16!' Happier than he could ever remember feeling, he couldn't have asked for a better birthday. With the exception of his horrific nightmarishly twisted vision of Voldemort's cold-blooded murder that had woken him at an untimely hour, he couldn't have had a better day.
"Harry, I need to know the contents of your dream." Professor Dumbledore said.
"Oh yeah," Harry said, "well, when I got into the dream it was all dark and cold and-"
Dumbledore interrupted, "Not here Harry!" He spoke at a dull whisper. "Go with me into the lounge, there we can speak uninterrupted."
Harry followed Professor Dumbledore thinking, How strange, what is with all the secrecy? Everyone knows that I have had visions before. They went into a small room that held a sofa with magical symbols, a brown armchair and a coffee table with a comfortable rug below. Across the sofa was the large fireplace with Flooing capability.
"I do not want them all to know this. It is dreadfully important war information." Dumbledore said then he sat in the armchair while Harry fell down into the sofa.
"Alright, well like I said, when I first came into the dream it was dark and cold, there were dirty puddles in the street. There was a man with dark hair and blue eyes. His name was… it was…" Harry racked his brain for the dead man's name.
"Fidelius Vorn." Harry said. "Fidelius Vorn is dead. Voldemort killed him. But Voldemort said something odd, he said that Fidelius was about to accomplish one of the most memorable feats in history. He called him Spinner. Voldemort said that he had spun many webs of deceit and illusion to keep Fudge and the magical community in the dark."
"That is very interesting of Voldemort to call Fidelius the Spinner." Dumbledore said while twirling his goatee with his pointer finger. "Very interesting indeed."
"Professor, I don't quite understand. How could this Fidelius fellow reunite our world and the Muggle world? Our communities were torn apart centuries ago, wouldn't it be quite impossible for him to bring our worlds together even with Voldemort as a common threat to both us and Muggles?"
"Oh Fidelius couldn't have done what he set out to do. Only one person can do that, the Half-Blood Prince. Fidelius was just doing what he had to do for the war effort."
"Then what did he do? How could he have helped the Order out if he died trying to do something that he can't do?" Harry's voice was starting to rise.
"He just helped us figure out that the Half-Blood Prince is not Voldemort. If it had been Voldemort, he could have driven the Muggle world to hunt witches and wizards to extinction and that would leave the world weak and vulnerable." Dumbledore explained calmly.
"Can we win this war without help from Muggles or the Half-Blood Prince?" Harry asked.
"Quite truthfully, no. Without support we can not destroy evil completely, even with Voldemort dead his horrific teachings would still be taught to innocent people. We need to wipe out all of the Death Eaters and Voldemort supporters Harry. Or we will not live to see peace, there will be no peace no happiness." Dumbledore said slowly with much emphasis.
Dumbledore continued, "Harry, it is of the utmost importance that you know what Fidelius Vorn did for the world. What he did for you. Just like Sirius and your mother and father, he sacrificed his body for the greater good and for you. What he did was on my orders. He was trying to lead the Half-Blood Prince in the right direction into creating an alliance with you. Voldemort was right in calling Fidelius the Spinner, he spun webs of deception, but it was for the good of the magical community. He wouldn't have been able to do all that he had done with Fudge's knowledge of the situation. Cornelius Fudge is a fool and wouldn't understand necessity if it sung the national anthem in his ear."
"But who is the Half-Blood Prince? And how can I help him do the right thing to achieve peace?" Harry asked.
"Only time will tell Harry. Just remember, the world must be turned upside down to survive. We must accept change to live. We must allow that the way we lived before now is the past and we can't live like that any longer. Harry, remember Fidelius's death like you remember Sirius's sacrifice and your father and mother's sacrifice. It was for the good of the Magical and Muggle world that Fidelius tried to unite our worlds. Fidelius knew that unity would defeat Voldemort. Voldemort was afraid of unity. Unity is the only way to win this war."
"Thank you for telling me the truth about Fidelius's death." Harry said.
"Just remember the end of Spinner. Soon the magical community will know our plans for Voldemort's defeat, but they won't know Fidelius's sacrifice like you do, Harry. Remember Spinner's end."