A/N: This story is set in the trio's 7th year going along with the plot in book 6.
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Chapter 1 -Needing To Leave
"How'd your parents take it?" Ron asked.
Hermione's trunk and bags lowered to the floor following the actions of her wand. "They would have opposed more if they knew school really hasn't closed down. Besides, they don't know what we're really doing."
"Shall we go get Harry then? I reckon he's been there long enough."
Harry had wasted the first two weeks at the Dursley's without the knowledge that the underage wizarding law had been lifted. When the letter arrived, the first thing he did was hex Dudley for pushing him out of the way so he could get to the bathroom first. That night was the first time he was well fed since he had lived with the Dursley's, though it was nothing compared to Mrs. Weasley's cooking.
The newly gained knowledge of Harry being able to do magic outside of school did nothing to change the Dursley's overall treatment of him. There were many occasions Harry could have used magic on them for the way they were treating him, but he did not see any gain. In fact, their general neglect never really registered to him. His thoughts remained at Hogwarts.
Not a night went by when his dreams weren't haunted. His dreams, more nightmares, were reliving one of the worst days in his memory. He almost rather be dreaming of Voldemort torturing people again. Almost. Though, lately he had started to contemplate that. He wanted to know what he was thinking, where he was, what he was doing…maybe it would give him a clue. He needed to destroy the remaining Horcruxes. Harry tried to concentrate. He needed to format a plan. It was useless, his mind simply would not focus on the task at hand.
"BOY!" Uncle Vernon yelled.
Harry habitually went downstairs where his uncle waited for him. "Yeah?" He said barely audible, staring at the floor with his shoulders slumped.
Vernon was silent. Harry glanced up to see why he was not responding. He was eyeing him suspiciously. "Petunia! Come here and fix him!"
She came to the foot of the stairs where they were standing. She let out an annoyed sigh and grabbed Harry's shoulders, adjusting them into a proper posture position. This was the Dursley's way of being nice to him...
"Your dinner is on the counter," Vernon said. "This time you better eat or else those…people will threaten us again."
The Dursley's had been making Harry eat dinner at the table with them every night in an attempt to avoid threats and his possible hexes. It was more than obvious that Aunt Petunia grew annoyed by his lack of appetite since she was giving him normal sized portions now. Tonight was no exception as he again had no appetite. Five forkfuls into the meal, he felt like he was going to be sick if he continued. He put his fork down, preparing to excuse himself, but he saw Uncle Vernon's face. Harry closed his eyes and imagined himself at The Burrow, surrounded by the Weasley clan. Ginny was sitting next to him, holding his hand under the table to avoid being glared at by Ron. He opened is eyes to find the Dursley's all staring at him. He picked his fork back up and forced himself to eat.
Harry cleared the table out of the many years of conditioning. Accio wand! His nonverbal spell skills had improved immensely since learning he could practice. The dishes began to clean themselves and the horrified Dursley's rushed out of sight, mumbling irritably as they left.
Thus far, speaking was something Harry rarely did this summer. Practicing magic was strictly kept to nonverbal as well. The sound of his own voice only made him feel worse…if that was even possible. Dead parents, dead godfather, dead father figure Dumbledore, no more girlfriend and soon to be no more best friends after they find out that he ditched them to go on his search for Horcruxes on his own as he had originally planned.
The last of the dishes were put back in place and Harry leaned against the counter, staring at nothing in particular.
Crack!
Crack!
Everyone in the living room was now screaming. Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and spirited in the direction of Uncle Vernon's yelling voice. Rounding the corner, his wand at the ready, he found Ron standing idly and Hermione cringing as Vernon yelled at them. Harry decided now would be a good time to mute Uncle Vernon and he did so nonverbally. Ron and Hermione smiled as soon as they realized what had happened. Vernon, on the other hand, had turned to face Harry, the veins in his neck and forehead pulsating and face reddened, attempting to yell at him. He performed the counter-jinx when Ron and Hermione were safely upstairs.
"Harry?" Hermione said, "Why are all of your things packed? You couldn't have possibly known that we were coming."
Harry didn't say anything. He had planned to leave that night without any way for them to know where he could have gone.
"Harry…" Ron said. "Were you…going to leave?" Harry still did not respond and stared at his trunk and bags by his bed.
Hermione started going through her robes, pulling out some parchment. "We brought you this." She handed Harry the parchment. "It's an Apparition License. T-they're giving them out to everyone who successfully apparated in the lessons." He stared at it, knowing that he had not made a full apparition during the school year. "I presume they already know you can." She added.
"Ow!" Ron said as he rubbed his side. "Right. Um, yeah. G-ginny…says hi."
"She can't wait to see you, Harry." Hermione said. He shoved the license in his pocket and still said nothing. He wished they would leave…and not have mentioned Ginny. "The wedding is tomorrow, I hope you packed your dress robes." He nodded. He had packed everything he owned.
"Why won't you talk to us?" Ron asked. "Ow! Stop hitting me!"
"Is there something wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked more tactfully. "You can tell us anything."
He stood there. He knew exactly what he had to say and he knew it wasn't going to go over well. "I…I-I want you guys to leave." He whispered.
"Leave! We're not leaving!" Ron looked stunned. "If anything w-"
"I want you guys to leave, I don't want either of you to come with me, I'm not going to the wedding, I don't want you to try to contact me once I've gone and I don't want you to tell Ginny I said hello." Harry said, slightly louder than he did last time.
"Don't be silly, Harry." Hermione said. "We're coming with you so just get used to the idea." She went over and grabbed one of his bags and with a crack she was gone.
"C'mon mate." Ron said, going for Harry's trunk.
"Ron, I can't." He said. It was too late, Ron was gone. "Damnit."
Harry walked downstairs. This was the last time he would probably ever see the Dursley's. He told them so and thanked them for allowing him to stay all of these years even though it was more than obvious they didn't want anything to do with him. Uncle Vernon nodded to acknowledge that he had in fact done this, but to Harry's surprise, did not make any vindictive remarks about it. Aunt Petunia and Dudley merely stared at him. He said good bye and apparated to The Burrow. What greeted him was exactly what he had hoped to avoid. Ginny with a welcoming embrace. He didn't hug her back and stood there with his arms at his side.
"Oh will you stop being noble." Ginny said with a smile as she placed his arms around her.
He let his arms drop immediately and backed away from her. "I shouldn't be here. I need to leave." His eyes scanned the room for his belongings.
"No, what you need is to sit down and tell us what's wrong and why you're acting so distant." Hermione said, coming in from the kitchen with some tea.
By no means had Harry planned on telling them anything, yet somehow he told them everything. He answered every one of their questions to the best of his ability. Stealing Snape's supply of Veritaserum before leaving last year did not work out in his favor...
