Chapter 1

Dear Mr. Potter,

The following letter contains your OWL results.

OWL Scores

Astronomy: A (1 OWL)

Care of Magical Creatures: O (2 OWLs)

Charms: E (1 ½ OWLs)

Defence Against the Dark Arts: O (2 OWLs)

Divination: D (0 OWL)

Herbology: O (2 OWLs)

History of Magic: D (0 OWL)

Potions: E (1 ½ OWLs)

Transfiguration: O (2 OWLs)

Total: 12 OWLs

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress.

Harry frowned. He had done better than he had expected but the Potions result seemed to have put his idea of being an Auror out of commission. "Ah well," he thought, grinning slightly, "being a Quidditch player isn't a bad option either."

***

"Boy," Uncle Vernon yelled, when Harry appeared for breakfast, " I want you to mow the lawn today and make it snappy." Harry raised an eyebrow. "Alright, Uncle Vernon," Harry replied dutifully. Vernon sniffed angrily and returned to his newspaper. In doing so Uncle Vernon seemed to have missed the mischievous glint in Harry's eyes.

***

Uncle Vernon, after finally done with his breakfast, decided to check on that freak before some kind of mishap actually occurred. One would think that a task as simple as this would be executed with no major problems. But what Uncle Vernon saw outside rendered him temporarily speechless. Out there he saw the land mower running on its own. And that dratted nephew of his was nowhere to be seen.

***

The Burrow was in chaos. Just a few minutes back, it was just like any other traditional Weasley breakfast. An arrival of an owl containing Dumbledore's letter seemed to have changed that though. All it said was-

Dear Arthur,

Harry's been missing. Need your help. Meet the Order at HQ.

Yours truly,

Albus.

It was no secret at the Weasley household that Voldemort was bent on killing Harry. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that it was probably he who was behind Harry's sudden disappearance.

Each Weasley's reaction to news was different and yet at some level the same. Molly Weasley was sobbing. Ron looked stricken. Ginny remained impassive. Fred and George had tried to lighten the mood, but clearly their minds were not into it. Bill and Charlie were abroad. Arthur sighed. "This is not good…not good at all," he thought morosely. Giving Molly a quick peck on her cheek and disapparated to the Order's new headquarters.

***

Dumbledore was a worried man. He thought he had nothing to worry when he has some of the Order's best members watching over Harry. He had seen to that the whole of Privet Drive was enclosed in anti-apparation wards. Some more complex magic had ensured that no one could port-key in or out either. A few checks had ensured that no dark magic was involved. And a very reliable source had reported that the Dark Lord was in no way involved. Infact the Dark Lord himself had some of his best Death Eaters trying to track Harry down. That, according to Dumbledore was not exactly a comforting thought, for the minions of Dark Lords were renowned for their tracking abilities.

Dumbledore sighed. "Where could have he possibly gone?" he wondered. Immediately after the disappearance he had assembled all the members of the Order. But no one could offer any useful advice. Unable to hit on a solution to track down Harry most of them returned half-heartedly returned back to their work. The more unwilling ones however brushed aside Dumbledore's advice to wait for something to occur and were currently in Privet trying to figure how exactly could Harry have possibly disappeared. Dumbledore was still wondering what to do when an owl arrived for him.

"Curious," he thought while opening the letter, "who could possibly write to me at such a late hour." Dumbledore eyes widened when he saw the senders name. It was from Harry.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I am fine. Do not worry. Cannot divulge location. Sorry.

Yours sincerely,

Harry.

Just to ensure that it was no trick Dumbledore tapped his wand over the letter and muttered a few words. The words glowed for a second and then turned back to its original state. "Its Harry, alright," thought Dumbledore. With that clarified he then hurried to alert the Order.