Author's Note:
I've never written a fanfic before, but after reading many written by others, I have decided to give it a try. Ideas have been brewing a long time, so I hope you like it! As an aside, I was immensely disappointed to see on MuggleNet that Emerson & Crew did not think it likely that Harry and Ginny would get back together in Book 7. They seemed to think Harry had more important things to worry about, but to this I say "Ha!" To me, it seems that Ginny is very important. After all, Harry's best power is his ability to love. But, that's enough of my ranting; you'll be able to see my opinions in the story!
Oh yes, and I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.
Chapter One: New Residents at Privet Drive
Harry Potter looked at the front of Number Four, Privet Drive with a mixture of disgust and apprehension, but also with resolve. Despite the fact he was returning to the "home" he had loathed since he could remember, he had something on his side this time. Whether the Dursleys liked it or not, his friends were coming to help him live out his final few weeks at Privet Drive. With a sigh, Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and began to drag his heavy trunk into the house. He was unannounced, as the term had been let out a few days before term's end due to the tragic death of the beloved Headmaster. Still, Harry hoped the Dursleys might get over their disappointment in seeing him so early considering he would only be there a short time, for the last time, and also considering that he was only at Privet Drive for their protection in the first place.
Aunt Petunia shrieked as he strolled into the kitchen, shouted at Harry, and then asked why he was already there. "Does this mean you'll be leaving soon?" she asked almost hopefully, but with a trace of nervousness behind the façade. Harry realized she must know what might happen once his protection was gone.
"Yes, a few weeks are enough to give you protection; for awhile, anyway. I'm afraid you won't be too safe after I come of age, though. By the way, my friends Ron and Hermione will be arriving shortly, to help me cope with being here. I expect them to be treated with respect, as they are both of age and perfectly able to keep you in check." With that, Harry turned to go up to his room, ignoring Petunia's gaping mouth. He was interrupted by his fat cousin, Dudley, coming through the door.
"What are you doing here already?" Dudley asked, surprised.
"I might ask the same of you—what, did they finally kick you out of school?" Harry sneered.
Dudley muttered, "Just what do you know about it," and skulked away to watch some TV, making a stop at the refrigerator along the way.
"Apologize to my Dudders!" screamed Petunia. "He has such sensitive feelings, and he doesn't need you rubbing in his expulsion! As far as we know, you've been thrown out of that school, too…"
At this point, Harry decided to let the point drop, for the memory of why he had really left school was still too fresh. "I'll be in my room," he told his aunt, as he began to lug his trunk up the flight of stairs.
Later that afternoon, Harry was staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, thinking about Ginny, horcruxes, Dumbledore, Ginny, horcruxes, Sirius, Ginny, horcruxes, his parents, Ginny, and horcruxes. He had let Hedwig out and he obviously had no homework, so he was left lonely and with nothing left to do but dwell on his misery and the challenge that lay ahead of him.
His reverie was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell downstairs. He didn't trust the Dursleys to be civil, so he jumped up and went downstairs to greet Ron and Hermione. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see not only his two friends, but also Ron's mother, Molly Weasley.
"I won't pretend I was happy when I heard that Ron and Hermione expected to come here with you, Harry," Mrs. Weasley began, "but as I have been coerced into agreeing, I am here to speak with your, uh…relatives, and to make you all comfortable."
Molly then pushed past Harry into the hallway, at the end of which stood the sour-looking Dursleys. Ignoring the bulging vein in Vernon's purple face, Mrs. Weasley introduced herself and commenced to tell the Dursleys what her expectations for the treatment of the three magical teens were.
"I wouldn't expect you to feed them, of course, Ron here can eat about twice his weight most meals…so I'll be sending them baskets regularly." The Dursleys looked pleased at this, and Harry was relieved he wouldn't have to subject himself or his friends to their meager rations.
"Now, I'm just going to make sure Harry's room is made suitable for the three of them," finished Molly. Harry led them up to his room, where he had done nothing yet to unpack. "Hmm. Well, I don't know how I feel about Hermione being here with you two boys, but I guess we have no alternative. We'll have to bunk your beds on this side of the room and add another one over there," she said. With a swish of her wand, three beds appeared, two of them bunked.
"Then, let's see, you'll need a table and chairs to eat on, and a couch for comfort's sake. Hermione, I suppose you'd like some shelves for books and things, and we'll add another chest of drawers here at the end of your bed…" A few more flicks of the wand, and all the new items fit miraculously into the space of the smallest bedroom at Number Four, Privet Drive.
"Alright, you'll need some linens and plates and things, so here you go." She added neutral blue bedding to the bunks and a pretty light purple to Hermione's bed. Some dishes stacked themselves in a cupboard by the table, and with the final addition of a sink, Mrs. Weasley appeared satisfied.
"Okay, kids, I guess I'll leave you to get settled. If you don't write me once a day, remember I could easily reverse my decision about this! I'll leave a basket of food here for you and send some more tomorrow. I expect you to be home the fifteenth of July for the wedding, of course. Now, give me a hug and I'll leave you alone." After they gave her hugs, the three friends were left looking at each other with amazement.
"Well," said Harry, "welcome to Privet Drive. Thanks for staying with me. I can't imagine having to stay here by myself."
"Sure, mate, we wouldn't let you stay here alone to wallow in misery," said Ron.
"While we're here waiting, I thought we could look through these books I borrowed from the library at Hogwarts-McGonagall gave me permission to use it for the summer-we could try and find information to help us track down those Horcruxes," Hermione added.
"For once," said Harry, "I agree with you that we should try to find out as much as we can, but what happens when we get through these books? It won't take long with three of us working."
"I've taken care of that. I arranged for Dobby—"
"You asked a house elf to do something for us?" interjected Ron.
"-to exchange books for us when we need more…Oh don't give me that look, Ron. Dobby is a paid house elf and I've offered to knit him some socks to pay for his help! Just because I disagree with the enslavement of house elves doesn't mean I don't think we should make use of our resources!" Hermione retorted peevishly.
At this, Harry and Ron merely exchanged incredulous looks, keeping their mouths firmly shut about Hermione's decision to seemingly turn her back on all of her S.P.E.W. efforts.
"It's a good idea, 'Mione," Ron agreed. "Dobby was probably falling all over himself to help…Give us a book and we'll start looking."
After a solid hour of skimming through books in the hope of finding useful information, it became apparent that Harry's thoughts were not on the book in front of him. "What's on your mind, Harry?" asked Ron.
"Oh, I just feel like we're wasting our time looking through books not knowing what to look for. Oh, I know we need to do something to look for the Horcruxes," he added quickly, before Hermione could argue, "But I think maybe we need to do a bit more. Could be maybe start up the DA again? On a smaller scale, I mean, just us, Neville, Luna, and…Ginny…" The last name caused Ron and Hermione to glance at each other.
"Harry, I think that's a wonderful idea, maybe we could even meet at the Burrow or something," said Hermione. "But speaking of Ginny, what exactly happened between you two? She only said you'd broken up, but I can't imagine why you would. You both seemed so happy!"
"Hermione, I was the happiest I've ever been when I was dating Ginny, but I had to break up with her. As she said, it was the noble thing to do. She was not safe as long as she was with me. Voldemort would try to get to her because she was with me…I couldn't risk that!"
"Harry," said Ron quietly. "I hate to tell you this, mate, but everyone's in danger these days, not just those of us close to you. And I'm sure Hermione would agree with me when I say that I feel quite a bit safer with you around than not." Hermione nodded, patting Harry's hand, while Ron continued, "Mate, I think Ginny'd be safer with you. That's saying a lot coming from me! Anyway, You-Know-Who, alright V-V-Voldemort…(he shuddered) probably already knows you two dated. Snape and Malfoy will have told him, wouldn't they?"
"Yes, Harry. Ginny loves (this word caused Harry to jolt) you, and I know you care a great deal for her, as well. I think you'd both be much better off, and happier, if you were together," put in Hermione.
"Look, guys, I think we're just going to have to disagree about this. I don't know how she could possibly be safer close to me what with a maniac and his lunatic followers constantly after me. Let's just drop it. It's getting kind of late, and I'm hungry, so why don't we see what Mrs. Weasley has packed for us?"
"Hey, you know I never turn down food," Ron said, before ducking his head at Hermione's reproachful look. Still, Hermione pushed aside their books and took some of their new plates out of the cabinet. As they ate some of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, they discussed some of the logistics involved in starting up the DA again. All three agreed that a better location was needed, something comparable to the Room of Requirement in its ability to adapt to the needs of a room full of people studying Defense.
Midway through the meal, an owl swooped in through the open window. He flew directly to Harry, sticking out his leg for him to untie a roll of parchment. Unrolling the letter, Harry read a summons to the reading of the will of Professor Albus Dumbledore, to be held the next morning at Hogwarts. He took a deep breath, and then said, "Well, I guess this is my opportunity to ask McGonagall whether we can return to Hogwarts every so often for DA."
"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry this came so soon—we weren't expecting this yet!" cried Hermione.
"I wasn't expecting it at all. When Sirius died Dumbledore just told me later that he had left me everything. What could Dumbledore have had to give me?" wondered Harry.
"Well, let's hope it's something to help us find the Horcruxes," said Ron. "We need something to go on."
"I'm going to go for a walk, okay?" said Harry after he put his dishes in the sink.
"Alright, Harry, but please be careful!"
"Take your wand, Harry, who cares about the stupid rule," added Ron.