I do not own any of these characters except the ones that I have made up for this story.

Chapter 1

Back to Hogwarts

Harry awoke abruptly. He had had that dream again, about Sirius. About him coming to his house and taking things away minutes before Voldemort attacked his parents and himself.

He found that he had tears rolling down his face and quickly brushed them away. He had had this dream since the beginning of sixth year and all through the summer before his seventh. He was going back to Hogwarts for his last year in four weeks. He had started these dreams after Dumbledore had said something in his beginning of the year speech.

"New Hopes will come, whether real or through dreams," said Dumbledore. When he said this he had looked at Harry and lifted his eyebrow like he always did when he would tell you something important but leave something even more important out for you to discover on your own.

Harry grumbled in frustration at this incomplete prophecy. He put on his glasses and looked around his bedroom on Privet Drive. He put his head in his hands; he couldn't wait for it to be 10:00 the next morning. Ron was coming over to pick him up (by apparating) from this torture chamber and bring him to the Burrow, where he would be greeted by open arms from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the Weasley children, and Hermione.

He looked at his clock, 3:34 in the morning.

"C'mon!" said Harry aloud to himself. "Skip to 10:00!"

But the clock remained 3:34, of course, after a couple of seconds it did change to 3:35.

Harry laid his head back on his pillow. He closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep. But of course it was no use. In his dream the late Sirius walked up to his parents house.

He could see Sirius greeting each of his parents in turn. He gave his beautiful readheaded mother a kiss on the cheek and he and his father exchanged a "manly" hug. With the whole patting on the back and everything.

"Listen I've come for her," Sirius said.

Lily smiled. "She's right in here!"

As the dreams shifted sets he saw himself as a baby sitting in the crib and watched Sirius pat him on the head, "How's my boy?"

From there the dream went into mumbling. He couldn't make out what they were saying. They were speaking in low, hushed voices. He could only make out certain words or phrases and they didn't make any sense: "Voldemort", "the weapon", "He'll be coming soon", and "He didn't have this on his side before". They stood over a small table and Sirius was picking up something that was set on it. But he couldn't see what it was. Sirius departed quickly and the door snapped shut behind him.

Then the dream went to the killing of his parents. Then it shifted to outside. Where he saw Sirius holding the small mess of blankets which held (what Harry was almost certain) was a weapon of some kind.

"James! Lily," said Sirius in despair, "Harry!"

Then a dark shadow flitted passed the door and he saw Sirius eyes widen and he fled. The most part of this part of the dream was watching Sirius run and hold whatever it was that he had taken from his parent's table. Then the last part of the dream. Sirius arriving at a house in the middle of the woods, standing in front of it, he breathed a deep sigh and reached out and grabbed the door handle. The door opened revealing…

Harry awoke abruptly like he always did just as the dream was about to reveal something important.

"Damn!" he whispered to himself, then he looked at the clock.

9:30.

"Oh! God I have to get ready!" said Harry and he quickly packed everything into his bag by magic. He got dressed, and just as he as pulling on his shoes he heard Dudley's voice ring out across the house, "HARRY YOU'RE STRANGE FRIEND IS HERE!"

Harry levitated his trunk down the stairs to the amazed faces of the Dursley family.

"I am not his "strange" friend!" said Ron, "I'm a wizard."

The amazed looks on the Dursley's face were replaced with one of uncomforting acknowledgment to the casual use of the word.

"Hey Ron!" said Harry brightly, and gave his friend a "manly hug." "How are you?"

"Good!" said Ron, "Hermione is already there, of course, she can't wait to see you and neither can Ginny!"

When Ron said Ginny he raised his eyebrow suggestively.

"Ron!" said Harry grinning, "She's the one that has the crush on me remember!"

The Dursley's looked shocked that anyone could have a crush on their freak boy. The phone rang in the kitchen.

"I'll get that," said Aunt Petunia hurriedly and ran into the kitchen.

"All me to assist you," called Uncle Vernon and followed right behind her.

"If she only has a crush on you,then why is this in you're pocket?" asked Ron, and he reached into Harry's robes and pulled out a picture of Ginny, "I know she has a crush on you, but I think you have a crush back!"

"Gimme that!" said Harry and he grabbed the picture and gave a tug and the picture fell to the feet a Dudley.

Dudley picked it up and examined it.

"Why would a hot girl like this want Harry?" he said aloud.

"HOT?" exclaimed Ron, suddenly turning on Dudley, his face turning red, "YOU THINK MY SISTER'S HOT!"

"Yeah!" said Dudley, "she's a babe!"

Ron's eyes got to be the size of dinner plates and his nostril started to flare, and was Harry mistaken or did smoke come out of his nose?

Ron lunged himself at Dudley but Harry stopped him.

"Why!" started Ron, but Harry cut him off.

"I have no place to go this Winter Break!" said Harry, "Dumbledore said that its to dangerous for me to be at Hogwarts during the holiday's with Voldemort after me, trying to kill me, I have to stay with the Dursley's or I die and if you kill Dudley I will not be welcomed back here!"

Ron loosened up, "This is only for you," he said quietly through gritted teeth.

"Hold on!" said Harry and he held up a camera and took at picture of Dudley and then a picture of Ron who still looked like he was about to lunge at Dudley. "Ginny needs to see this!"

"C'mon!" said Ron, "Let's go."

Ron and Harry took either side of the trunk and aparated with a large snapping sound.

Harry and Ron appeared in Ron's room.

"So you can unpack everything and then we go down for breakfast!" said Ron brightly.

"Breakfast this late?" asked Harry who was starting to unpack all his clothes.

"Yeah," said Ron casually, "we were all waiting for you."

"You didn't have to do that!" said Harry putting some of his shirts in the extra dresser drawer.

Then there was a blur of brown and red hair that swooped into the room and dove upon Harry.

"Harry!" screamed the brown blur, which soon turned into Hermione, "you're here!"

"Hurray!" screamed the red blur, which was Ginny, "Now we eat!"

"Ginny, Hermione," said Ron laughing from the side, "get off him!"

Hermione and Ginny released Harry from their death hold and stepped back and looked at him.

"Oh Harry!" said Hermione, "it nice to see you again!"

"It's nice to see you too Hermione," said Harry brightly and coughing slightly from just being released.

"Oh!" said Ginny, "there's just so much to tell you!"

"Why?" asked Harry, "what's been happening?"

"Oh," said Hermione, "the usual here, but otherwise."

She slowed.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Voldemort has been looking for you," said Ginny quietly, "and he is killing anyone who is trying to stop him."

"Yeah," said Harry slowly, "that's not really new news."

"No," said Ron, "its different now."

"How?" asked Harry looking at each of them.

"Harry," said Ginny slowly, "he knows now that you stay here with us."

"Has he come?" asked Harry, worriedly, "has he tried to attack you?"

"Sort of," said Hermione, "we could see Death Eaters, or what appeared to be Death Eaters, sneaking peeks into the window of the living room, trying to see if you were there."

"But they'll probably come back," said Ron, "I think the only reason they haven't killed us all already is that they were waiting for you to come before they attack. They want you to think that nothing's wrong."

"I think Ron's right," said Hermione, and Ron looked surprised and pleased with himself, "if no one came to get you, you would know that something was wrong, and you would've gone to Dumbledore."

"So I'm not safe here," said Harry plainly.

"Yes," said Ginny, "so we aren't staying here for long."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"We are all going to Hogwarts tomorrow evening," said Hermione, "four weeks early."

"We are?" asked Harry looking at them all, "you all are going?"

"Yeah," said Ron, "it would look really suspicious otherwise."

"So," said Ginny, "breakfast anyone?"

Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry walked down the stairs exchanging stories with each other about what had happened that summer so far.

When they got to the kitchen Harry was met by Mrs. Weasley yelling at the top of her lungs, "FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY, HOW DARE YOU! YOU KNOW THAT YOUR FATHER AND I WANT ABSOLEUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR JOKE SHOP AND THAT'S FINAL. HOW COULD YOU SIGN US UP AS MEMBERS FOR THE JOKE OF THE MONTH CLUB!"

Mrs. Weasley was bent over the kitchen table staring daggers at her twin sons.

"Mother," said Fred, "if you would let us explain."

"EXPALIN!" screamed Mrs. Weasley, "WE ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH OF YOUR JUNK LYING AROUND THE HOUSE AND NOW WE GET NEW ONES MAILED TO US EVERY MONTH!"

"Mother," said George, "please, we have company."

George pointed at Harry. Mrs. Weasley smiled and walked over to Harry, "Harry dear, how good to see you. Bacon?"

"Yes please," said Harry and the group made there way to the table.

"Ah!" said George taking Harry's hand and shaking it, "Harry, how spiffing to see you."

"Absolutely corking!" said Fred who also shook his hands.

"Well now," said Mrs. Weasley. "You all (she pointed at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny) can all pack up tonight and you will stay here tonight and then tomorrow night around 9:00 Dumbledore will come and pick you up."

"What are we going to do there?" asked Ginny as she put three pieces of sausage on her plate.

Mrs. Weasley eyed Fred and George.

The four other children got the message and decided to press the matter later when others (big mouth Fred and George) weren't around.

At that moment Mr. Weasley walked through the door.

"Morning to all my children!" he said brightly and kissed the tops of everybody's heads including Harry and Hermione's. "How are you all?"

"Fine," said Ron, "what was the early morning call about?"

"Oh that," said Mr. Weasley, "oh it was nothing. Somebody bewitched a door to literally hit people on their way out. Nothing extreme."

"Have a spot of breakfast," said Mrs. Weasley putting a plate loaded with food in front of her husband.

"Off to Hogwarts tomorrow," said Mr. Weasley, "and yet another Head Boy in the family! (He patted Ron on the back, Ron rolled his eyes) and a Head Girl in the family as well (He patted Hermione on the back. She beamed at being called a member of the family)."

Harry smiled as his friends had very different reactions to the same compliment.

The day went on without any real commotion. Since it was still light out when they had finished talking and unpacking the four of them went outside for a stroll.

"So," said Harry causally, "where is everyone lodging?"

"Well," said Hermione, "since Ginny's room is being disinfected we are all sleeping in Ron's room."

"Whoa!" said Harry, "first question is there room? Second question, disinfected from what?"

"Of course there's room!" said Hermione, "we moved the beds in and we all fit with a little room to spare and its being disinfected from Gnomes."

"They climbed up an ivy vine to my window and it was open because it was a beautiful summer day and they all crawled in and made themselves comfortable, EVERYWHERE!" said Ginny, and she flailed her arms to show that she meant everywhere.

"Well," said Hermione, "I know that I will be more comfortable sleeping in the same room as a lot of people, with all those Death Eaters lurking around (she shivered), ugh, it gives me the creeps!"

"So," said Harry, wanting to change the subject, "Ron, who is going to replace our two chasers? Now that they graduated we have spots open."

"Sorry already a chaser!" said Ginny throwing her hands up, she had joined the team in her fifth year and this time not just as a replacement for Harry, and Harry had to admit she was awesome. "Hermione, you could take a crack at it!"

"Ginny!" said Hermione, "I can barely stand being off the ground and now your trying to add balls flying at me from all directions and some that are actually TRYING to knock me off my broom! Are you insane!"

"Sorry!" said Ginny, laughing, "just thought I'd ask!"

"Well," said Ron (who had turned out to be the captain of the team), "I was thinking about holding try-outs. I'll talk to Dumbledore about it before school starts."

"Great Idea!" said Ginny. "Have you seen some of the third years! Well, fourth years now, but I was changing from Potions to Herbology and I saw them practicing in Flying class with Madam Hooch and they were pretty good, you should check some of them out!"

"Okay," said Ron shrugging his shoulders.

"Dinner everyone!" they heard Mrs. Weasley's now faint voice, "Come on inside!"

Dinner was uneventful. Everyone just talked about how they were excited for school to let out for good and comforting Ginny saying that she wouldn't feel left out or anything once they left and she was in her last year without them.

"Off to bed you all!" said Mrs. Weasley after Hermione and Ginny helped her clean off the table. "Tomorrow, I'll be waking you early."

"Alright," said Ron and Harry, "let's go!"

Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny walked upstairs and opened the door to Ron's room. The room looked different. Ron's bed was pushed to the side of the wall and Harry's next to it. Exactly opposite of this was Hermione and Ginny's bed.

"Boys, out!" announced Ginny.

"Why!" said Ron, "This is my room!"

"Ron, me and Ginny have to, um, change," said Hermione slowly.

A look of realization crossed over Ron's face.

"Okay, we'll be outside!" said Ron and he and Harry rushed out leaving the girls to giggle.

"Well that was embarrassing!" said Ron as he shut the door.

"It doesn't matter!" said Harry, "Its not like she knows you like her!"

"What!" said Ron and was about to knock Harry's lights out when Hermione opened the door again.

"Alright you two you can come back in," called Hermione.

"Do you need us to go out of the room while you change?" asked Hermione folding her clothes and putting them back in her trunk.

"No," said the boys together and with that they pulled of their shirts and took off their pants and stood before the girls in their boxers. Ron had a pair of flannel red ones and Harry had flannel green ones.

"Well good night all!" said Ron as he jumped into bed.

"Good night!" said Harry who also jumped into bed.

"Night Boys, Night Hermione!" said Ginny who was already lying in bed.

"Good Night Ginny, Harry, Ron," said Hermione and she too crawled under the covers and blew out her light.

The next morning Harry awoke to the noise of many people talking and murmuring. He sat up slowly.

"Hello Harry!" said Ginny who was sitting on the bedside next to him, "I tried to wake you up gently but I ended up having to start shaking you, you feeling alright?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "I'm fine."

That day the four teens spent their day playing games around the Burrow going exploring through the bits of yard behind the house, laughing at jokes and stories and remembering old times.

"Let's play chicken in the lake!" said Ginny

"Okay," said Hermione and they went behind a tree to change into their bathing suits.

"I wore my swimming trunks," said Harry, "Ron you got yours?"

"Yeah!" said Ron and they both took off everything but their swim trunks.

"Ready girls?" asked Harry.

"Yeah!" said Hermione coming out from behind the tree with Ginny close behind her.

"Teams!" said Harry, "Ginny and me vs. Ron and Hermione."

The teens jumped into the lake. It took a minute for all of them to get adjusted to the water and then they broke into their teams.

"Okay Ron," said Hermione, "I'm on your shoulders."

"Okay," said Ron and he went under water and Hermione sat herself upon his shoulders and when he came up they were ready. Ron looked over at Harry who had Ginny sitting on his shoulders.

"Hey Ron!" said Harry, "You're going to lose because my partner is lighter and easier to carry!"

"Are you calling me fat Harry James Potter?" asked Hermione fiercely.

"I never said that Hermione," said Harry with an evil grin.

Hermione looked down at Ron.

"They're going down!" she hissed.

Ron laughed and charged at Harry and Ginny.

They played over and over again, and then it started to get dark.

"Chicken in the dark!" said Hermione still on top of Ron's shoulders, "Exciting!"

"Let's do it!" shouted Harry and the pairs charged again.

Little did they know that they were having so much fun they did not hear Mrs. Weasley call, "Professor Dumbledore is here."

Nor did they here Dumbledore say, "I'll go get them myself, Molly."

They all kept playing. All of a sudden Hermione bent down and gave Harry a sharp thud across his chest. Harry buckled over and fell taking Ginny with him. In a last feeble attempt to at least have a glorious defeat Ginny on her way down grab Ron's swim trunks and pulled them down. Ron dove down to retrieve his pants and Hermione fell awkwardly on top of him and they were face-to-face, chest-to-chest. When Ron moved his head and his hair brushed her neck, she let out a giggle.

"You're ticklish!" said Ron and he tickled her again and she laughed and then they began to wrestle. The Harry and Ginny jumped in a started splashing around as well wrestling with their friends. They didn't stop until they herd someone clear their throat. Everyone froze and looked at Dumbledore standing at the edge of the lake with a very amused expression on his face.

Then everyone realized how awkward they looked. Hermione had one leg wrapped around Ron's shoulder and her hand was in the middle of the dunking attempt of Harry who had Ron's foot on his chest in an attempt to knock him over and Ginny kinda sorta giving him a piggyback and Ginny had her hand around Hermione's neck trying to tickle her. They looked very awkward indeed.

"I just came to tell you we must depart immediately," said Dumbledore and he smiled and began to walk away.

They all trudged slowly out of the water. Muttered a drying spell and changed into their dry clothes. They entered the house to find that their trunks had already been aparated to Hogwarts and that they had to say their last good-byes until the year was up or they saw each other next. Ginny ran up and gave her mother a hug. Ron went and gave his father a hug, "Head Boy and Captain, I can hardly believe it!" said his father.

Then Ginny and Ron switched places. Hermione caught Fred and George's eyes and rolled her own and ran up to them and gave them a big group hug, "Bye O favorite brothers of mine!" laughed Hermione. Harry gave everyone a hug one by one and finally everyone had hugged everyone twice.

"Time to get going," said Dumbledore, and with that he took the teens hands and led them to the middle of the living room. He nodded in respect to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and then there was a loud CRACK! And they were at Hogwarts in the Gryffindor Common Room. There were sleeping bags set up all around the room.

"Why are we sleeping down here?" asked Harry, "what about the dormitories?"

"They are still being cleaned by the house elves," said Dumbledore, "the five of you will be sleeping in the Gryffindor common room."

"Wait!" said Ginny, "the five of us? Dumbledore, there are only four!"

"Ah yes," said Dumbledore and the portrait hole swung open and who should step in but Draco Malfoy.

"Draco was required to come early as well," said Dumbledore, "it will be safer if you all stay here together."

"But!" Harry started to protest but Dumbledore had removed himself from the room.

Harry glared at Draco as Draco let out a loud breath.

"So," said Draco, "Which sleeping bag is mine?"

"Doesn't matter," said Ron hotly.

"Can I have this one?" asked Draco pointing to the one closest to the window.

"Whatever," said Ginny helping herself to the one near the fire.

Draco laid his bags next to the sleeping bag and got inside. He didn't talk not to any of them the rest of the night.

The next morning when Harry and his friends awoke they found that Draco had already left.

"Good!" said Harry when they found his sleeping bag empty, "I don't want to have to deal with him this early in the morning."

They made there way down to the great hall where there was Draco sitting with Dumbledore, Snape, and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione," greeted Dumbledore and he pointed to the seats next to Draco and himself.

Everyone took his or her place.

"Now!" said Dumbledore, "we eat!"

The table was filled with breakfast foods and Ron immediately dug in.

"Ron!" said Hermione as Ron picked up a cinnamon roll, "slow down or you're going to choke."

Ron grinned at her and started to eat more slowly.

"Now," said Ginny, asking the question she had asked her mother, "What exactly are we going to do here?"

"Ah!" said Dumbledore, "times are turning dire and Voldemort has grow back to full power. You (he said pointing to Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione) had the right idea in forming that little group of yours, I believe it was called Dumbledore's Army."

"Yes," said Hermione slowly.

"Well," said Dumbledore, "you will be doing many of the same things you did during your D.A. meetings. Except, it will be a higher level."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"Now you will be trained not only in spells but in other fighting aspects," said Dumbledore and he pointed at what would have been where the Ravenclaws were sitting but now there was a variety of weapons such as swords, spears, and even sets of throwing knives.

"And what exactly are we going to do with those?" asked Hermione and she almost looked scared.

"Practice on each other," said Dumbledore, "Voldemort might attack at the school. In June of this year he did."

"Voldemort attacked the school," said Ron in complete shock.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, "Everything was turned over. No pillow, no feather, no piece of dirt was left untouched it seemed. He was looking for something."

"For the weapon," said Draco, it was the first time he had spoken that morning, he was looking down at his plate as he spoke, "the weapon he didn't have the first time."

"Yeah," said Harry, "Sirius told me that before 5th year, he was looking for a weapon, it's in the department of mysteries."

"Not anymore," said Draco, still gazing intently on his plate, "and that's not the weapon. What was in the department of mysteries could help him find the weapon, but it was not the weapon itself."

"Well, if you know so much, where is the weapon," said Harry coldly.

"I don't know where, um, it is right now," said Draco eyes wavering.

"We had better start," said McGonagall standing up, "students follow me!"

"Professor, if you please, I'm confused," said Hermione, "why are we using these old fashion muggle fighting techniques? What's wrong with spells and wands?"

"We fear Voldemort has been doing his research," said Dumbledore, "We believe that he has discovered counter curses for any sort of spell, charm, or enchantment anyone could come up with and be able to shield himself and Death Eaters with them at all times."

"But how?" asked Ron, his mouth half full of roll.

"We don't know," said Dumbledore, "we haven't been able to track down who's helping him."

McGonagall lead the five students to the table set with weapons.

"First I will show you the basic uses for swords and spears," she began.

Dumbledore and Snape talked as the students practiced. McGonagall gave them courses through every sort of weapon imaginable. They had duels with each other and practice on the suits of armor that McGonagall had set around every corner to practice on their readiness for surprise attacks. This went on for the four weeks and finally school was going to start. And still Draco talked to them very little, which was fine just with Harry and his friends.

School started and students poured into the Great Hall. Naturally Dumbledore acted like nothing in the past four weeks had ever happened and neither did Draco as he took his seat next to his two goons.

"Another year is about to begin," said Dumbledore, "I know many of you are worried about Voldemort (many people in the room shuddered) returning to power. But if the houses unite then we may find peace in the school and in the rest of the wizarding world. And today we have eight new students entering their seventh year at other wizarding schools. Bring them in!"

The Great Hall doors opened and students walked down the hall toward where Professor McGonagall has set up the Sorting Hat. Harry counted.

"Hey!" whispered Harry, and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny lead towards him, "there are only seven!"

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she also counted and nodded her head when she had only counted seven.

The sorting hat sang its song and Professor McGonagall began with the names and then what wizarding school they were at previous and in which country it was located.

"Riley Ahearn, from Thurl Wizarding School in Ireland," she said and Riley stepped up and was placed in Hufflepuff.

"Shahlaa Abdal Malik, from Aalam Wizarding School in Pakistan," she said and she was sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Andreanna Harva, from Demond Wizarding School in America," she said and she stepped up and was sorted into Gryffindor.

"Blake Prentice, from Bradwr Wizarding School in Whales," she said and he was sorted into Slytherin.

"Calendae Thanatos, from Hecate Wizarding School in Greece," she said and she was sorted into Slytherin.

"Kennan Aldan, from Demond Wizarding School in America," she said and he was sorted into Gryffindor.

"Theodore Ambrosi, from Rinaldo Wizarding School in Italy," she said and John was sorted into Ravenclaw.

When nobody was left Professor McGonagall turned and looked at Dumbledore. Dumbledore just nodded his head.

"And Raya," she said, "Raya from being home schooled right here in England."

Silence fell across the room. Until.

Hey! Please review! The story gets better. I have it all in my head it just got out to a shaky start. It does get better, I swear! And your reviews are very much appreciated.