Author's Note: Since this story takes place following HBP, it obviously contains spoilers for all the previous books in the series, so it is probably not a good idea to read this if you have not finished the books yet. Otherwise, I'd be very glad to have you read this, and if you do, please take the time to review, as it is greatly appreciated. Just keep in mind that this is my first Harry Potter fanfic. Ever since I finished reading (and rereading) HBP, I've been dying to know what happened to Harry. Since we still have to wait for who knows how long, I've decided to write my own version year 7. So here goes…
Chapter 1: Dark Thoughts in Dark Times
It was a beautiful summer's day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The sun's warm rays shimmered across the unbroken surface of the clear, blue lake. Students could be seen quietly conversing at various areas of the grounds surrounding the majestic castle. A gentle breeze stirred, ruffling their hair and lightly caressing their faces. The pleasant weather however, belied the tumult of dark thoughts storming a young bespectacled boy's mind. It related nothing of the terrible events that had occurred merely a few days earlier.
As he pondered the incidents of the past couple of days, Harry Potter felt a wave of incredulity wash over him. He recalled his descent into the dark cave with Professor Dumbledore as they sought to find one of the Horcruxes in which Voldemort had hidden a seventh of his soul. He had returned with Dumbledore, who was still weak from the journey, to find that Death Eaters had invaded the school. It was then that Snape, who he had now come to hate nearly as much as Voldemort, had betrayed them all and killed Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time. He felt a strong fury rise up in him, and realized that if he ever saw Snape again, he would kill him for what he'd done. This reckless anger scared him slightly, but he knew that the traitor deserved anything bad that happened to him.
He still could not believe that Dumbledore, one of his last remaining protectors and mentor, had left him all alone. Yet, he should not be surprised really, as there was a distinct pattern to what happened to anyone who cared about him and tried to help. They all ended up dead. It was now up to him to find the rest of the Horcruxes by himself, and if he was lucky, eventually defeat Voldemort. It would be no easy feat. Two of the Horcruxes had already been destroyed, so that meant four remained. He would have to seek these out and eliminate them before he could even attempt to go near Voldemort, and fulfill the prophecy that had been written before he had even been born.
He sighed and ran a hand through his tousled black hair, trying to forget these depressing thoughts for a moment. It seemed that he was no longer in control of anything, even his hair. No matter what he did, his hair always stuck up in every direction, as if he had just gotten off his broom on the Quidditch field. And yet, he found that he rather liked the fact that his hair looked this way, since all who had known his father James insisted that he looked very much like him. He could hardly remember his father though, as both his parents had been murdered by Voldemort when he was a very young child. This was only one of the many reasons Harry had for vowing revenge on Voldemort.
His train of thought was interrupted as one of his best mates, Hermione Granger, came running up the hill towards him. He looked up as she approached, glad for the distraction. "Harry", she said panting slightly and clutching her side, "you haven't even finished packing yet, and the train's going to be leaving really soon". With a jolt, he realized that he had been sitting there under the tree staring out at the lake for quite some time. "Ron and I have already finished, so we can help you if you like".
"All right, I'm coming", he replied reluctantly, as he stood up, making an effort to give her an appreciative smile. His limbs had become numb from sitting in one position for such a long period of time, and he stretched carefully to regain the feeling in his legs. She returned the smile, though he could see that hers was also somewhat forced. Together, they turned and headed up to the castle.
They walked across the grounds in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Harry's mind wandered back to what he had been thinking of earlier, and to the enormous task he had to complete. He had no idea where to begin, or even where he would go after he left on the train. It was then that he came to the horrible realization that this might very well be the last time he ever saw his beloved school. In his six years of attending Hogwarts, it had become more of home to him than anywhere else he had been (apart from the Burrow). Perhaps this was the reason he had been avoiding packing his things. How could he live without Hogwarts? He, unlike most children, had dreaded summer vacation, always looking forward to the day when he would be back at school. But now, the thought of being there without Dumbledore was nearly unbearable. It just wasn't Hogwarts without him.
Harry looked up, and found that they had nearly reached the Gryffindor common room. He mumbled the password to the Fat Lady, and the portrait swung open, allowing them to enter. He was shocked at how empty it was. Many of the students had been whisked away by their parents immediately after Dumbledore's death. But by now, those who had stayed for the funeral were already waiting for the carriages that would take them to the train station. He turned to Hermione, "Don't worry, this won't take long. Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be right down." She nodded, and he hurried up to his dormitory to find Ron sitting on his bed waiting for him.
Ron looked up. "Hi, mate. I wanted to go get you earlier, but Hermione said we should just leave you alone for a while".
"It's okay, I packed most of it this morning anyway", Harry said as he moved around the room gathering up his various possessions and dumping them in his trunk in no particular order. Ron silently watched him pack, occasionally discovering a forgotten item that had been lying underneath the bed or on the table and tossing it to him. It seemed neither Ron nor Hermione really knew what to say to him. But he was fine with that at the moment; he didn't really feel much like talking anyway. He took a final glance around the room to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then stepped back and examined the disorderly pile. Oh well, he shrugged, at least everything's in there. "Let's go", he told Ron as he dragged the heavy trunk toward the door.
When Hermione heard Harry's voice at the top of the stairs, she yelled up, "Oh, thank goodness you've finished". Seeing that he was unsuccessfully trying to pull the trunk down the stairs, she reminded him, "You don't have to bring that down by yourself, you know". She looked a bit disgruntled at this, "The house elves will take it to the train for you".
At her words, he dropped the trunk, and made his way unimpeded down the stairs. How could he have forgotten that? It was the same every year. But then again, he did have an awful lot on his mind lately. The trio made their way to the portrait hole. Before stepping out, Harry turned to have one last look at the common room, almost as though he were trying to memorize the way it looked, in case he would have to rely solely on that memory. As he turned away, he met Hermione's eye, and he could tell by the sad look on her face that she suspected what he'd been doing.
They walked slowly down the lonely hallway. Surprisingly, the usually bustling corridors were practically deserted. It seemed everyone else was already outside. Then, as they turned a corner, they found Professor McGonagall moving quickly toward them. "What are you three still doing here?" she demanded, "The train is going to be leaving shortly. If you don't want to spend the rest of your summer here, you had best get there quickly".
Although Harry thought he would in fact like to do so, he muttered a "Yes, Professor", and the three of them continued towards the main door at a quicker pace. They soon reached the area where the large, thestral-drawn carriages awaited them. As he glanced at the creatures tied to them, he was reminded of the terrible reason he could see them in the first place. Now he thought morbidly, he could add another name to the list of deaths he had witnessed. Although they saw a few younger students here, none of which they knew by name, they were among the last to board, and the carriages began to move shortly. This is it, Harry thought, as the rickety carriage pulled them down the dirt road, farther and farther away from his home of six years.