Disclaimer: Harry Potter? Not mine! No way! I am a fan just like you!
Author's Note: I'm so sorry! This was originally Harry Potter and a Quest to End it All, but I had to delete it. Now that there is no other version or anything of the sort I can finally repost and rewrite without any problems, I believe. It won't get deleted again unless no one likes it. This is my own version of looking for the Horcruxes. Those that read this fic as Harry Potter: A Mission and a Quest, be wary. There will be some changes from the originally 'M' fic and I don't plan any slash in this rewritten version. Something in the end will change a bit drastically too towards a sequel with Ginny as protagonist. Won't say what as that would spoil everything! There will be hints. This is mainly an Adventure fic, but it will have a little bit of everything, including humour and teenage craziness. Enjoy! There's a Ginny sidequest too that is sort of introduced in chapter 9. Fic is only about 30 to 32 chapters.
Author's Note 2: First of all, English is NOT my first language plus I'm no professional with a vast vocabulary. If you think there are too many mistakes and I need a beta, say so. If you are very good with grammar and punctuation you can offer to be my beta too as I won't be recruiting Menecarkawan again for this.
Song: 'Promise' by TiA ( from Yakitate Japan!)
Horcruxes, Dreams, and Bonded Hearts
Ch. 1: Petunia's Regrets
Harry Potter, the boy known as The-Boy-Who-Lived, was quiet throughout his whole trip to London aboard the Hogwarts Express. He still had the headmaster's funeral in his mind, unable to make the reality of Albus Dumbledore being dead completely sink into him. Sighing, he passed his fingers through his messy raven black hair and weakly stared out the window. The warmth of the summer day wouldn't do anything to mend the vacuity inside his own heart.
As the scarlet train arrived in London Harry moved mechanically to exit. Students were reuiniting with their parents and relatives as soon as they went through the magical barrier that separated the wizarding station from the Muggle one. Harry loaded a cart and went through the barrier with his trunk and owl in tow, pushing the cart as he always did, but something was different. No one was waiting for him. He looked around, everywhere, alertness washing over his senses, but there was no sign of the Dursleys. The plump redheaded woman called Molly Weasley approached him in seconds. "Why Harry-- I haven't seen your aunt and uncle! Were they supposed to come for you?"
Harry Potter didn't know what to say, but he didn't want to be a burden to anyone. Not anymore. "I'll be alright Mrs. Weasley. Don't worry about me. I'll just take a cab." He suddenly thought aloud as he realized something: "The problem is that I don't have any Muggle money on hand."
The chubby woman smiled at Harry. "It's alright! We'll just give you a lift to the Leaky Cauldron and from there you can go to Gringotts for a money exchange." Harry didn't want to do that, but still nodded as he didn't have much of a choice. From the Leaky Cauldron onwards he would be on his own and no one was going to prevent that.
Ginny and Ron Weasley were quite happy when Harry was suddenly with them. Arthur Weasley had borrowed a car from the Ministry so everything was fine in a certain sense. In the car, the girl whispered to Harry: "I love you, but I'm trying to understand your noble reasons. But you know... I won't give up on you. I promise I'll wait Perhaps one day destiny will bring us together again." A sense of emptiness encompassed the green-eyed young man, sprouting roots inside him. His sadness was great, but he couldn't go back. He nodded at the girl, wanting her to be free rather than wait for him when there was a great chance he would never make it back. He had already decided that they couldn't be together and he was glad that she had taken it so well. Any other girl would have cried and pleaded, or so he thought.
At the Leaky Cauldron, Harry said 'thank you' and 'good bye' to the Weasleys before finally entering the place. He asked old Tom to watch his trunk and Hedwig for a while and then he approached the wall that led to Diagon Alley. As fast as he could, he got to Gringotts and exchanged money. The goblins didn't ask any questions, which was alright with him. After returning back in quickened paces he took his things and soon boarded a cab.
XxXxX
As soon as Harry arrived at Privet Drive he knew something was wrong. No. The Dursleys hadn't been attacked by Death Eaters or by Voldemort himself, but still something was not right. The house was dark even though it was almost dusk. Lights should have been illuminating from inside. He took out the key he miraculously had to the house and when he was about to insert it he noticed that the lock was open and thus, the key wasn't needed. He thought: 'Burglars?', but something told him that this was not the case either. He softly opened the door and heard someone sobbing as he entered, pulling his trunk and Hedwig's cage behind him. The quiet sobs came from deep darkness and he turned on the lights. His aunt was completely wasted on the floor surrounded by empty bottles of whisky. Harry approached her and her eyes fixed on his. "You're here." The statement sounded strange to Harry's ears, but he still wondered what had happened. Had aunt Petunia and Vernon quarrelled? Divorce? Where was Dudley? The woman was sobbing again. The stench of alcohol was very strong and it was combined with the stench of urine and vomit. He feared asking. One of the rules in the Dursleys' house for him had always been not to ask any questions, but he had to know what had happened that had sent his aunt into that state. His eyes must have asked the questions as suddenly Petunia, with a broken voice answered: "Dudley... He vandalized his school... He and his friends... They beat a boy to death... He's in a young offenders centre..."
"Vernon?" Harry didn't even bother to add 'uncle' before the name. The man had been no uncle to him.
"Buried three days ago... Killed himself. He couldn't bear the humiliation. To him... You were supposed to be the criminal... the bad influence... the bad kid supposedly in St. Brutus... Not Dudders... So many questions... He couldn't bear it... I still don't know how he got a gun... He blew off his head... right in front of me..."
Harry dropped to his knees in front of his aunt. The information was hard to process at the moment and he decided that his first task was to get his aunt clean. Afterwards he would clean the living room's floor and get rid of the bottles. Resisting the stench, the young man lifted his aunt into his arms and walked with her to the bathroom. The woman didn't complain. Harry placed her in a sitting position on the bathroom floor and turned the knob of the shower on. He calmly undressed his aunt and after stripping her of the stinky clothes, he lifted her and got her into the shower. She dropped to her knees under the water doing nothing. Harry took his excess clothing off along with his glasses, leaving his boxers and white t-shirt on. He got into the shower and washed his aunt. Soon he turned the knob off and picked up a towel to dry the frail and skinny woman. He got her to her feet and made her come out of the shower. He considered that she had to start reacting on her own, and she did. She followed him like an automaton until they reached the master bedroom. He looked for a nightgown and underwear in her drawers and gave them to her. She put on the underwear herself to his relief and he then helped her into her nightgown. The woman was broken and Harry still didn't know how to deal with the situation. He honestly hadn't felt anything when she told him about Dudley being in prison and Vernon dead, but he did pity her. Just like Sirius had been special to him, just like Dumbledore had been a fatherly figure in a strange sense, Vernon and Dudley had been everything to her. Dudley could still be alive, but the fact of her boy being a criminal must have been devastating. Harry had seen that coming from long ago, but he wouldn't blame her with accusations. She had to understand how she had failed as a parent and as an aunt on her own. At that moment, she only needed help and that was the only thing he could provide her with, even though he felt she didn't deserve it. He was no monster and he would help her for a simple reason, she was his mother's sister. Certainly, blood would always be thicker than water.
Harry silently went downstairs and prepared a small and simple dinner of mashed potatoes with peas and carrots, some stewed beef, and steamed rice. He went upstairs and got his aunt, who was sitting on the bed exactly as he had left her before preparing dinner. He escorted her downstairs and soon sat her at the table. In minutes he found himself spoon feeding her as she hadn't touched her food. After he managed to make her eat half the plate he made her brush her teeth, gave her some painkillers with a glass of water, and got her upstairs to bed. Right before he had completely left she suddenly spoke in an audible, but broken whisper: "Don't leave me alone..."
"I'll come back," Harry assured her and then softly closed the door. He went downstairs to clean the mess in the living room. After cleaning and disinfecting the rug he placed the bottles in the bag readied for glass to be recycled. He then finished his own dinner, cleaned the kitchen, and headed for the shower. After having washed himself and brushed his teeth he was ready in his pajamas. Harry got his trunk and Hedwig to his small bedroom and set Hedwig free for the night, then he headed for the master bedroom. He softly opened the door and even in the darkness he knew that his aunt was still awake. She had been waiting for him.
"You did come back."
Harry was startled by the statement. "Yes. I did. Why?"
"Nothing... Stay with me. I don't want to be alone."
Harry nodded in the darkness and joined her, occupying the other side of the King sized bed. He lied on his side, his back to her, but soon felt her arms surrounding him and sobs on his back.
XxXxX
In the morning, Harry woke and found himself alone on the bed. He quickly got up, put on his glasses and ran down the stairs to check on his aunt. He was relieved to see her in the kitchen preparing breakfast. "Good morning!" His aunt actually greeted him with a faint smile. "Thank you... for last night... Why are you being nice to me?"
Harry lowered his gaze as he entered the kitchen. "You're going through a bad situation..."
The woman nodded and Harry sat down. They both ate breakfast and then he noticed her staring intently at him. "What?" he asked nervously.
"It's strange... Your father wore glasses too... Can't those wizards and witches fix bad eyesight?"
Harry meditated on the question, but really had no answer to it. "I don't know." His reply was honest. Many wizards and witches wore glasses and he had never known of magical cures for bad eyesight.
"Your eyes are beautiful. My sister's eyes... They shouldn't be hidden behind glasses. Your eyesight can be cured, you know? With laser surgery..."
Harry kept eating his breakfast. He had no idea why Aunt Petunia was suddenly bringing that topic up. They had never cared about his eye problem. In fact, they were supposed to take him to the Optometry clinic every year for check ups and they just left him with the same prescription every single year as they didn't want to spend a single pound on him.
"I will pay for it."
"Huh?" Harry looked incredulously at her.
"We'll go today. You will have your eyes checked and if the problem can be fixed I'll pay for your surgery. I have money... and... I'll be receiving a pension based on what Vernon used to earn from now on. It's good money. I'll be fine."
Harry decided not to go against his aunt. If that was going to make her feel better then so be it.
Right after breakfast Petunia and Harry were on their way to the clinic. In a couple of hours Harry had his eyes checked and they confirmed that his eyes could be fixed, but it would be recommended for him to be at least 21 as his eyes might still be growing. Petunia insisted to them that she wanted everything done as soon as possible and just like that Harry found himself only three days later under laser treatment. He was amazed when they told him that if he felt up to it he could return to a normal life as soon as the next day, but he decided to wear shades for a while to protect his sensitive eyes. Petunia seemed quite happy with the results. She seemed happy to be taking care of someone even if that someone was the boy she had always neglected.
The days after Petunia took Harry shopping, he would do the groceries with her, and they even went to an Aquarium, the zoo where he had spoken to a serpent for the first time in his life, and to many different places. She also made him get a driver's license after intensive classes. She had insisted in the fact that he would be seventeen soon and they had complied and tested him for the license. It was strange that she was being so maternal all of a sudden. After three weeks of being with her, Harry decided to be honest with her. "Aunt Petunia... These weeks have been some of the best in my life... I just wish you had done all of this for me before... I... I'll have to leave very soon as I have a mission I have to finish. I still have to vanquish my parents' killer. I am very grateful, but..." The woman hugged him and started to cry, startling him.
"Please don't get killed. Please... Please... You're the only one I have left and I don't want to lose you too. I know I was horrible to you in the past... I blamed you for my sister's death... I did love her, Harry, but I felt that the magical world stole her from me and that world led her to die at a young age... I don't want a repeat of those things--"
"I'll survive," Harry interrupted her. "I will do everything I can to survive. Next Saturday, I have been invited to a wedding. Wanna come?" The woman looked at him and blinked twice.
"Wedding?" Harry nodded. "Then we have to get you some formal clothes!" Harry raised an eyebrow, but let his aunt take him shopping yet again and buy him a suit. Then they both went to Diagon Alley. She felt strange being there for the first time in her life. In Diagon Alley, he bought formal wizard robes to use over the suit at the wedding. He asked his aunt if she wanted robes too, but she decided that she would just wear Muggle clothes. Harry chuckled. Just the thought of Aunt Petunia dressed as a witch had been hilarious. She would never go that 'low'.
XxXxX
Bill and Fleur's wedding was beautiful. Petunia was alarmed when she saw Bill's scarred and almost deformed face, but her nephew calmed her. His aunt did think that the bride had to be the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, but Harry decided against telling his aunt that the bride was part veela. That would have required too many explanations that he didn't feel like giving. During the wedding Harry noticed Ginny glancing at him from time to time. It almost seemed like she wanted to speak with him, but couldn't bring herself to do it. He just sighed, deciding that he wouldn't approach her. He would never turn her into Voldemort's target. He couldn't go back on his word and on the contrary, he almost wished she would start some casual dating as something like that could completely alienate her from ever having been close to him, to Harry Potter.
Ron and Hermione planned their visit to Godric's Hollow with Harry in the middle of the wedding feast that came after the ceremony. Their trip to that place would be very soon and from then on they were going to search for the Horcruxes. The three friends promised to stay in contact until the designated day. Harry felt quite tempted to ditch Ron and Hermione, not wanting to involve anyone, but at the same time he remembered Dumbledore telling him to confide in his friends. Still, involving Ron and Hermione in what was obviously his mission was dangerous. The storm in his mind was driving him mad, unable to reach a final decision, but then he filled himself with strong determination. He would take them with him on the quest for the Horcruxes, but when it came to fighting Voldemort he was going alone. Somehow he would abandon them after the last Horcrux was destroyed. He would find out how he would do it when the time came.
In the middle of the celebrations Harry left with his aunt. Petunia had wanted to give the couple a present, but Harry was the one to choose magical presents in Diagon Alley on the same day he had bought his formal occasion wizarding robes. Bill and Fleur would have never known what to do with a microwave or a blender, but he smiled as he thought of how excited Mr. Weasley would have been with Muggle household goods...
XxXxX
The day before Harry's fated departure, his aunt sat with him. "Harry... You have no idea how much I regret my behaviour against you all these years. Dudley would have never made me as happy as you have made me during these few weeks. I failed as a mother. I know that very well. I am glad that even though I never spoilt you rotten as I horribly did with Dudders you have turned out to be a nice young man. You have grown so much... and you are very handsome, you know that? I bet the girls are all over you..." Harry felt himself blushing and shook his head. "Take good care of yourself. Lily would have been very proud of you... as I am now."
Harry kissed his aunt on her cheek and he whispered to her: "I... I'll try to love you, aunt Petunia, but give me time. Thank you for everything." Even if it had been for so little time that she had acted as a mother he was grateful, but the next day... The next day his quest would start.
By the time Petunia got up the next morning Harry was gone. He had left her a small note:
I promise I'll take care of myself, but if I never come back,
please continue living... For me and mum. Take care of
Hedwig. You can send me letters through her. Again, thanks
for everything. Not needing glasses is a great advantage!
Take care of yourself.
Your nephew,
Harry
Petunia knelt on the floor sobbing and praying for her nephew's safety with every tear she shed, hoping that somehow fate wouldn't claim Harry's life as it had done with his mother.