Disclaimer: You know the drill. It's not mine. It all belongs to JKR and Warner Bros.

A/N: Okay, kiddies! Here's the first chapter of the sequel to "Long Way to Go: Part One." Of course, as you have noticed, this is "Long Way to Go: Part Two." I tried to make this dummy-proof so my readers would remember the sequel's name. Also, it'll help newer readers out. IF YOU ARE READING THIS BEFORE "LWTG: PT I," please click on my name (see above) and read "LWTG: Pt. I" or this story will not make sense! Thank you, and enjoy!

Chapter One: Home Is…

Harry Potter lay on his bed in the smallest bedroom of Number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey, listening to the time go by as though he was just a normal boy without a care in the world. No one would ever suspect that he was an underage wizard that attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, nor would they suspect that this same boy held the fate of the wizarding world on his shoulders. They wouldn't know that he was the "Chosen One," as the Daily Prophet stated. No, this young wizard looked as though he didn't possess any oddities about him. His only relatives—Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley—wished he wasn't a wizard, for they feared their neighbors would notice their family was "different."

Harry sighed and stretched on his bed, wishing his thoughts would leave his mind. At times he wished he had a pensieve to store all of his bad memories of previous years. But he knew they would be important later. He knew he would need them. He thought about the previous year at Hogwarts and agonized, for the millionth time that day, how he had missed everything. How had he not noticed the Dark Mark burned on Dean Thomas's left arm? How had he not realized that his former housemate and his former friend was, in fact, a Death Eater at Hogwarts? How did he not know the truth? Jumping from his position on the bed, Harry began to pace the small room, his eyebrows furrowed and deep in thought. It had been two weeks since they had left Hogwarts for the summer, and he still couldn't stop thinking about the events that had transpired the year before. A sharp rap on his bedroom door brought him out of his thoughts as his uncle opened his door and glared at Harry.

"Yes?" Harry asked as he looked at his uncle with indifference.

"Have you written to your…friends today?" his uncle asked as though it killed him to mention anything about his nephew's abnormality.

"Yes," Harry responded, "I sent my letter with Hedwig this morning."

"And what did you tell them?" Uncle Vernon pressed. Harry rolled his eyes and dropped onto his bed.

"That I'm fine, I'm eating well, and that I'm not being mistreated," he gave as he concentrated on his uncle's face.

"Just remember, boy," his uncle warned with a glare, "You tell them anything, and I mean anything, other than that, you will be mistreated for sure." Harry sighed and nodded, closing his eyes and rubbing them behind his glasses.

"Your aunt and I are taking Dudley out for the day," Uncle Vernon announced sharply, "You are not to leave your room for any reasons. Stay here and wait for us to return. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Yes what?" Uncle Vernon prompted. Harry rolled his eyes again, wishing his uncle would leave.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied. Vernon eyed him suspiciously before Harry gave up watching him and focused on the clouds outside the window. He heard his uncle moved toward the door and close it before he sighed again, glad to be away from his aunt's prying and his uncle's lectures for the rest of the day.

"And get a haircut!" his uncle yelled as Harry snorted, knowing Vernon couldn't go more than a day without mentioning Harry's hair. He ran a hand through the dark and unruly locks of his hair—just one of his trademark features, aside from the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. He knew nothing would work on his hair, for he had tried everything. No matter what he tried, his hair still stuck out in odd places and looked as though he had just stepped off of his broom. As he heard the doors to the Dursley's car close and the engine start, his snowy owl Hedwig flew into the open window.

"Hello, Hedwig," he called out as he noticed the letter tied to her leg. Quickly, he moved to remove it from her. He smiled as he noticed Ron's untidy scroll before he opened the letter and sat down at his desk.

Harry,

How are you? How are you doing at the Dursley's? I wish you could be here. I don't know what's worse: Fred and George teasing me all the time or Mum's worrying. At least when you're here she tends to not notice the rest of us that much. I asked Mum when you would be joining us, but she said that it was up to Dumbledore. Of course, Dumbledore hasn't been around to let us know anything, choosing instead to go to the Headquarters over coming here. So, I don't know when you'll get to leave the Dursley's. Have they been too horrible this time? I hope not. I hope Dad's warning was enough for them to treat you alright this summer. But at least you'll get to join us soon. And if we don't see you by your birthday, Mum said she was going to get you from there, regardless of what Dumbledore thinks. Hang in there! You only have a few more weeks left!

Have you heard from Hermione yet? She wrote me yesterday and said that she had already completed her homework for the summer. We still have ages to go! Of course, she thinks she needs to revise them in order to get perfect grades. Who is she kidding? She's liable to get the best scores ever! Mental she is.

She also said that she went to the Ministry with her parents earlier this week and passed her apparition test. Dad's taking me tomorrow to get mine. I wish you could get yours, but Dad said that we shouldn't press the matter right now. Do you think Dumbledore will let you get your license before the end of the summer? I hope so. I think it would be bloody fantastic if the three of us had our licenses and could go places. Of course, Ginny would want to tag along if we got our licenses.

Well, I had better go. Mum wants Ginny and I to degnome the garden before supper, and you know how she can be when she wants things done. I wish I were in your shoes. Mum likes you, but I can't figure out why. She wanted to send several packages of food to you so you would eat properly, but Dad told her that Pig needs to say for emergencies and Hedwig wouldn't be able to carry the load after making two trips. And Errol passed away a week ago. Dad says we need to get another owl in case it's needed for emergencies. But Mum doesn't want to "replace" Errol right away. As much as she complained about him, she sure does hang onto him.

Anyway, write soon!

Ron

Harry smiled before pulling out some parchment and his favorite quill. Dipping it into his inkwell, Harry began writing a letter to Ron.

Ron,

I'm doing okay right now, thanks for asking. The Dursley's left earlier, but they didn't say where they were going or when they would be back. Uncle Vernon just told me to stay in my room and to not leave. I think they're having company over again tonight, but I don't know. How are you? Are you enjoying your summer? I'm bored and I keep thinking about what happened last year. I started on my homework and have most of it done, but I'm too bored to even do that.

I haven't heard from Hermione yet. I wondered if she and her parents went on a trip again, but it sounds like she's just been busy with her homework and with, well, homework. It's good that she got her apparition license and that you are getting yours tomorrow. I wish I could get mine, but I still have to take the lessons for them. Maybe Dumbledore will let me take them next year. I really wish I could get my license with you guys, but Dumbledore felt I needed my other lessons instead. I guess it was a good thing.

I'm sorry to hear about Errol. But he was getting, well, old. Maybe it was just his time. Tell Mum I'm eating just fine so she doesn't worry about me. I don't want her thinking that the Dursley's are that bad. They just ignore me for the most part. It doesn't bother me too much. At least they aren't yelling at me all the time like before. I hate being here either way. I wish I were with you guys instead. At least I have my birthday to look forward to, though. It means I'll get to leave here for good. I can't wait!

I better go. I still need to finish my Transfiguration homework this afternoon, and I want to take a shower before the Dursley's get back. I hope you're enjoying your summer!

See you soon!

Harry

Harry finished his letter and folded it before looking at Hedwig. She hooted and stuck out her leg as though she knew he would ask her to take the letter even though she was tired. Harry smiled and tied the letter to her before watching her fly out his still open window. After she became a speck on the horizon, he turned to the door and left his room to take a shower, wondering where the Dursley's were and how long he had.

o-o-o-o-o

Harry sat at his desk, dusk approaching quickly outside his room, and worked on the last sentence of his essay for his Transfiguration class. He scratched his head and added the final few words before setting his quill down and leaning back in his chair, a relieved smile spreading across his face. That's one more down, he thought as he stood from his desk and stretched, only one more left. He closed his books and set them aside as he heard the Dursley's talking down below, ignoring him as usual. They had returned shortly after he started on his essay for McGonagall, and Vernon had only checked on him when they had gotten home to make sure he was still in his room. Harry had pretended to be working on the essay and had ignored his uncle so that his uncle would leave right away. Fortunately, it had worked for Harry and Vernon had left too soon after opening the door. His stomach growled as he put his Transfiguration scroll beside the books and he wondered how much longer he had until dinner.

"Boy!" his uncle yelled up the stairs, "Get down here!" Harry smirked as he opened his door and walked down the stairs to the kitchen, knowing it was dinner time. The only time they called him down was for meals or to lecture him on leaving his room. Other than that, they came to his room to talk to him. Sure enough, he reached the kitchen to see dinner laid out on the table. Silently, he took his place at the table and looked at his plate. The only things on it were a handful of steamed vegetables and a small piece of grilled chicken. Harry slowly started into the meal with a sigh. Dudley's success with his last diet had failed over the year and the nurse at his school had insisted that the Dursley's continue to watch his diet. Therefore, Aunt Petunia felt that everyone should go on a diet again.

Uncle Vernon snorted at the dismal dinner as Dudley eyed everyone's plates hungrily having finished his already. Dinner passed silently for a few moments until Hedwig flew into the room with a red envelope in her beak. Silverware clattered onto the table as Harry and the Dursley's watched in fright as she flew toward them and dropped the letter onto Petunia's plate, who simply stared at in fear. Harry shrugged and picked up a piece of broccoli in his mouth.

"I would open it, if I were you," he responded as his aunt tried to push it off her plate with her fork, tentatively trying to get rid of it like it were a bomb, "It'll explode if you don't. And I've always found it's easier to get it over with anyway." Slowly, Petunia picked up the smoking letter and broke the seal.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU MISTREAT HARRY WHILE HE IS IN YOUR CARE! YOU KNOW THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE AT THIS MOMENT! NOT FEEDING HIM PROPERLY! LOCKING HIM AWAY IN HIS ROOM LIKE SOME ANIMAL!" the strong voice of Molly Weasley bellowed from the howler. Harry smirked into his chicken as he listened to Mrs. Weasley yell at his aunt and uncle all the while he ate and watched their shocked and scared reactions in amusement.

"MARK MY WORDS, YOU CRUEL PEOPLE! IF I SEE ONE HAIR ON HIS HEAD HARMED OR I SENSE THAT HE WAS NOT TREATED PROPERLY, MERLIN HELP ME IF I DON'T END UP IN AZKABAN WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!" Harry sighed and watched the letter burst into flames before dropping back onto his aunt's plate. No one moved for several seconds except for Harry, who set his fork on his empty plate. Just as he was standing up, he felt someone grab his wrist.

"What did you tell them, boy!" Vernon yelled as Harry turned to him.

"Tell who?" Harry asked incredulously as he watched his uncle's face turn from red to purple.

"Those freak friends of yours!"

"Nothing! I wrote them and told them I was being treated exactly like I told you I had!" Harry yelled back as Vernon rose from the table.

"Why did they send that letter, then?" Vernon continued in his loud and angry tone. Harry merely shrugged as he moved out into the hallway, Vernon following behind him.

"You listen here, boy!" his uncle continued to rant, "As long as you are under this roof you will treat us with respect instead of sending your friends after us. This is not your home! This is our home! We took you in out of the goodness of our hearts and we will not have you disrespecting us under our roof! Do I make myself clear!"

"Good! I don't care anymore! I don't consider this my home! It's never been my home! Hogwarts is my home! I hate it here!" Harry yelled back before racing up the stairs and slamming the door to his bedroom, angry at what his Uncle Vernon had said. He knew that Ron had told Mrs. Weasley what he had written, but he didn't care anymore. He slumped onto his bed and closed his eyes, feeling hot tears well into them as he felt the pain of his uncle's last words to him. Before he knew it, he had fallen into a deep sleep.

o-o-o-o-o

"Boy! Get down here! Now!" Harry's uncle shouted early the next morning from the kitchen, waking Harry from his sleep. Harry shook his head and slowly got out of his bed, realizing that he was still in his clothes from the day before and that they were disheveled from his sleep and that the sun hadn't risen yet. He shrugged and shuffled out of his room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, expecting another lecture from his uncle. Instead, he was surprised to see an alert Mr. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore, and Remus Lupin standing in the kitchen.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" he asked in shock, not believing that they were there.

"There's no time for that, Harry," Professor Dumbledore replied, "We need to get you—the four of you—out of the house immediately."

"What's going on?" Vernon began as Lupin walked to Harry.

"Come on, Harry," Lupin stated quietly, "We'll go pack your things while Professor Dumbledore speaks to your uncle." Harry snorted and glared at his uncle before nodding and leading his former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor out of the kitchen and to his bedroom. As he started to gather his things and place them in his trunk, he heard Lupin chuckle.

"Harry," he began, "Let me." With a flick of his wand, Lupin had all of Harry's things packed neatly into his trunk.

"Wow!" Harry remarked, "You did a better job than Tonks!" The tired man chuckled and smiled at Harry.

"Don't tell Nymphadora that," he joked, "She'll have my head." Harry nodded, wondering what he had meant by that before Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the trunk and made it float.

"Do you have everything, Harry?" he asked as Harry looked around his room before he saw Hedwig's cage with the snowy owl sleeping inside it. He quickly latched the cage and picked it up as he turned to his former professor and nodded. Together, with Harry's trunk floating before them, the made their way back into the kitchen to find a purple-faced Vernon and an equally scary-looking Professor Dumbledore glaring at each other.

"We're ready to go, sir," Professor Lupin announced as he set Harry's trunk down on the floor. Harry looked toward the rest of the group to see a scared Petunia and Dudley had joined them in the kitchen. Professor Dumbledore turned to them and nodded before looking back at Vernon.

"Take Harry with you, using your portkey," the headmaster ordered, "the rest of us will be right behind you." Professor Lupin nodded before turning to Harry.

"Harry, give me Hedwig and take a hold of this," he gave as he held out a broken watch to Harry. Harry grabbed his trunk with one hand and placed a finger on the watch as he felt the familiar tug of the portkey in his navel. He bumped around a little until his feet hit solid ground and he fell to his knees. As Lupin helped him up, Harry looked around to see they were in the foyer of Grimmauld Place.

"What's happening, sir?" Harry asked as he looked at Lupin in concern. The aging werewolf shook his head and smiled softly at Harry.

"It's best to wait for the others to join us before we explain what has happened," he stated, "Why don't you go put your things away in your room and wait for the others to come." Harry nodded eagerly as Lupin pointed at the trunk and sent it to Harry's room. Taking the stairs two at a time, Harry hurried to his room to unpack his trunk, happy to be out of Privet Drive for good and eager to find out what had happened.

A/N: Okay, that's the first chapter of this new adventure. I hope you all enjoy it! The next chapter should be up in five days, as usual. From then on, I will post a new chapter every five days unless plans change. I hope you continue to read! Thanks for sticking with it this long! MALD