^_^;; Hey all you HP fans! This is my first venture into Potter fanfiction, I normally only write Gundam Wing stories, but my newest little fetish has become HP fics so I decided to try my hand in J.K. Rowling's world. ^_^ However, this is not going to be one of those light kid-friendly stories by far, in fact I mean to showcase plenty of yummy slashy-ness in future chapters. *grins* There will be dark!Harry, so anyone expecting to see the Golden Boy Who Lived shall be sorely disappointed in the Harry in this fic, along with many other small character adjustments (like the unbastardization of a certain Draco Malfoy...*purr*). And this story picks up at the start of their 6th year, so Order of the Phoenix spoilers are all over the place! But yes, just thought I'd forewarn the wary!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Harry Potter and all related matter belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and her publisher, so please don't sue this poor excuse of an authoress who bows before Rowling's greatness. ^_^;

Warning!: Spoilers for PS (AKA Sorcerer's Stone), CoS, PoA, GoF, and OotP, darkness, loads of angst (definitely not for the happy), slight character adjustments (also known as OOC, but adjustments sounds nicer...), future slash and such...you get the picture, ne?

Pairings: Future Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, and any others I may think of along the way...

I think that's about it...so do enjoy! ^_^

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Harry Potter and the Kiss of a Dragon

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Chapter One: Not So Joyous Reunions

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The seething atmosphere around Number 4 Privet Drive was as thick as the humid summer night air. To everyone else it went unnoticed, which was exactly what the Dursley's wanted. The last thing they needed was for their impeccable reputation to be tarnished by the freak that lived over their roof.

That 'freak', as he was so kindly labeled by his relatives, was currently gathering his belongings together in his small bedroom and was packing them into the immense trunk laying open at the foot of his bed. Considerably speaking, the summer hadn't been as horrid as past summers after he started attending Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that involved food deprivation and being locked in a cupboard. Though having a whole band of wizards threatening to curse you into oblivion for mistreatment tends to make a person be nicer.

Harry smiled faintly at the image of his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia standing petrified before Moody, Lupin, Tonks, and most all of the red-haired Weasley family when they came onto Platform 9 3/4 at the end of term. And they hadn't said a bad word against him since. Actually, they haven't spoken to him at all, but it wasn't as if Harry was complaining about it.

He opened the wardrobe to pull out his clothes, pausing to look into the full-length mirror attached to the inside of the door. Life at Hogwarts seemed to have fully caught up with him, he reckoned he was almost as tall as Ron had been the last time he had seen him, and his scrawny frame had filled out quite nicely. The paleness of his skin didn't look unhealthy anymore; it had obtained a sort of luminescent glow that contrasted sharply with his unruly black hair. However, the ethereal shine immediately dimmed with one glance into the unsettling green eyes that showed an ancient, embittered soul who had seen too much in life before his time, something that had always been shadowed behind his glasses. Harry had not known whether to thank Hermione for the spell she had sent him for his birthday (which he did in the end), or regret using it, because he could no longer hide behind the thick black frames.

Harry shook his head, grabbing his clothes and tossing them into his trunk as he shut the door. His 'Happy sweet' sixteenth birthday had been far from sweet, in fact upon reading the cheerful cards from his two best friends, he was tempted to throw them out the window. But he hadn't, because those birthday cards and two other letters were all he had gotten from Hermione and Ron since they separated, with them busy helping everyone in the Order, they had very little time to write. The only other letters he had received was his usual school book list and one from Mrs. Weasley, informing him that they would be meeting up with him on the Knight Bus a week before school started up again so they could get his supplies and finish some business regarding Snuffles.

That had not helped the abysmal mood Harry had fallen into. 'What business is there to finish?' he had thought morbidly after reading the letter, 'Sirius is dead.'

It was his fault Sirius was dead in the first place. If it hadn't been for him and his 'hero' complex, Sirius would be safe right now in Number 12, Grimmauld Place with the Order. But no, Harry had to walk right into the trap Lord Voldemort had set for him in the Ministry of Magic, a decision that nearly cost his best friends', other students', and people from the Order's lives. In the end, it -had- cost Sirius' life. And what was the great reward? Being briefly possessed by the Dark Lord and finding out that the whole mess was over a stupid prophecy that said Harry was the only one who with the power to destroy Voldemort, and in order to survive he had to kill him or be killed by him. Something Dumbledore had known all along, but hadn't wanted to tell Harry out of love for him. No matter how many times he had asked the headmaster beforehand.

'Don't go and get yourself all pissed at the world now,' Harry frowned, closing his trunk rather unceremoniously with a nudge of his shoe and putting Hedwig's empty cage on top of it. 'Just think about getting out of the Dursley's and being with Ron and Hermione.' Though even that calming perspective was losing its happiness behind it. He knew the second they were together, all he would hear about was how wonderful their summer had been while he had been forced to spend it cooped up on Privet Drive. Exactly the way Dumbledore had treated Sirius, locked away to be kept out of trouble.

Harry shook his head and checked his watch. The plan in Mrs. Weasley's letter was to slip out while the neighborhood was asleep so no one would notice his departure, and it was a quarter till midnight now, the time he was told to wait out on Magnolia Corner for the Knight Bus to arrive. Harry gave the room one more glance over to be sure he wasn't leaving anything behind before stooping down and picking his trunk up, edging out into the hall and treading his way cautiously down the stairs. The biggest feat was getting out the front door in one piece without waking up his aunt and uncle in the process, but he managed it nonetheless and made his way down the sidewalk to Magnolia Crescent.

Dropping his things to the pavement, Harry was not surprised to see Mundungus Fletcher, a shifty wizard known for his suspicious dealings who was part of the Order, standing there waiting for him on the corner with a cat.

"Hullo Dung, Professor McGonagall," he greeted with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, rubbing his arms with a slight wince.

"'ullo you too, 'arry!" Mundungus replied eagerly; completely oblivious to the forced tone as he clapped him hard on the shoulder with his dirty gloved hand. "Long time no see, eh?"

The tabby cat cast its gaze surreptitiously to the houses around them and upon deeming it safe slowly shifted into Harry's Transfiguration teacher, a stately older woman with graying hair leaning on a walking stick. "Mundungus, if you would be so kind as to keep your voice down, then perhaps the half of the neighborhood you haven't woken up yet might stay asleep," Professor McGonagall said curtly.

"Ah, right, sorry 'bout that..."

She dismissed it with an impatient wave of her hand as a loud BANG! resounded through the street and a three-story, obnoxious purple bus appeared in front of them. The door flew open, but before the pimply Stan Shunpike was able to jump out with the usual Knight Bus spiel, Mrs. Weasley herself clambered down the steps with a "It's so good to see you Harry, dear" and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Uh- you too- Mrs. Weasley-"

She drew back, inspecting Harry critically as he regained his breath after the tight embrace. "At least it looks like those relative our yours took better care of you, yes, and you've gotten so handsome!" Mrs. Weasley beamed, dragging him up into the Knight Bus with Professor McGonagall following after them. "Can't believe it's only been two months! Well, up you go, Ron and Hermione are up on the top level waiting quite anxiously to see you, refused to stay at the Headquarters when we were leaving to get you-" She let out an exasperated huff, ushering him up the stairs before turning around. "-Mundungus, go on to Arabella and let her know everything went smoothly-"

Harry sighed; continuing up the stairway as the noise below faded away to sounds of groaning and snores from the other nauseous Knight Bus occupants. On the top flight, he immediately spotted his two best friends among a couple of members of the Order blending in perfectly with other riders. They sat close, closer than normal, with their heads together as they spoke to each other in low voices and it wasn't until Hermione glimpsed back and caught Harry standing in the threshold that they jumped apart. She made to get up and hug him, but as soon as his intense gaze fell fully on her, Hermione stopped.

"Hey! We've got a bed saved over here for you, mate!" Ron grinned, beckoning him over.

The Knight Bus gave another bang and Harry was just barely able to get to the bed across from them before it jolted forward, sending everyone sliding around the compartment.

"I swear, the next time this bus stops I'm having your mum put Permanent Sticking Charms on these beds Ron," Hermione muttered, picking herself up from the floor. Once they all got situated, she gave Harry an awkward smile. "So I see you really did use that spell I sent you for your birthday."

"Yeah."

"I almost didn't recognize you until 'Mione nearly flew out of her skin," Ron said sheepishly.

"-Hermione-."

"Huh- oh right," Ron's ears turned pink as she shot him a reproachful look.

Harry quelled the urge to sigh again. Suddenly the want to be with his friends didn't seem so great, and there was obviously something he had missed out on (unsurprisingly) while he had been away. "So-" he said emphatically, getting their attention. "So- how's your summer been?"

"Oh, well, we've been busy helping as much as we can with...well, you know," Hermione paused uneasily, clearing her throat. "Of course, it's been a lot easier since the Ministry's finally acknowledged His return, so it's not nearly as bad as it had been."

"Yeah, Fudge made a complete turn around too, he can't even choose a quill to write with without owling Dumbledore to make sure," Ron snorted, then his face twisted as if he had bitten into a particularly sour lemon. "And Mum's been in a right state since Percy came home and apologized for being a stupid git."

"At least he came to his senses," Hermione pointed out.

"That's good," Harry said dully, turning his gaze to the window to watch the passing landscape.

"So how were your O.W.L results?" she replied tentatively, glancing desperately over at Ron for some help.

"I got enough for the classes I want to take," he shrugged indifferently. "I'm sure McGonagall used her influence to get my O.W.L for Potions just to spite Umbridge."

"Great, so we're all stuck with Snape again!" Ron grinned broadly. "He's going to be even more horrible now that it's his N.E.W.T.s class."

"Potions is nothing compared to Occlumency," Harry muttered darkly.

Hermione looked appalled. "Dumbledore's making you take those lessons again?"

"Oh no, Snape insisted himself that I start Occlumency again," he glowered moodily at nothing in particular outside the window. "Got a notification with the school supply list."

"You haven't seen anything-" Ron cut off as the Knight Bus slammed to a halt once more and Stan Shunpike's voice came from overhead.

"Grimmauld Place, London!"

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Yeah, I know it's kinda short...but I thought I'd see what kinda response I get before I post any more, so please feed the starving authoress' ego with lovely reviews! *sweatdrop*

And flames will be used to toast my marshmallows, so feel free to leave some of those too if you want...^_~