Harry Potter and the Return to Hogwarts


Important Info

- I do not own Harry Potter -

- I will do my best use facts from the books and movies -

- My inspiration for this fanfic is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling -

- This is a rated T fanfic for now -

- Last updated 26JUN2012 -


Writing Style Legend

- *Setting* -

- Details -

- "Speaking" -

- 'Quoting' -

- "Thinking" -

- Dreaming -

- Titles -


Part One:

Author's Notice

Slowly but surely, I'm getting more and more hits and visits to my HPCC fanfic, but the thing is, what is the difference between visit and hits? Still fairly new to fanfic and this is only my second fanfic that I left up. Speaking of which I need to work on my other fanfic.

Also, some of you might be wondering as to why I didn't just start off in Goblet of Fire and had Cho date Harry then. One, I'm sure there are a ton of fanfics like that; two, I hate rewriting a story… I'm not going to edit a whole book that's already to my liking. In fact, I didn't really like re-editing the end of Deathly Hallows that much, but now that I got that done, I can move on and become more creative!

Yet strangely enough, even though I said I hate to rewrite an entire book, I can't help but think of rewriting the entire Harry Potter series... Weird... Not sure if I will do that yet or not, but for some reason, I think I will... Hmmm...


Part Two:

Replies to Chapter Two Reviews

To Orym Hawksong: Thank you for being the first to review this story! lol, I saw that this story had over 600+ hits, but not one review... OUCH... making me think that this was a bad idea lol. Thank you for letting me know about the "jumps". I'm still a novice writer, so any tips would be appreciated very much.

To OutlawKnight: Aw shucks... you give me too much praise lol... Now I won't be able to live up to your expectations... lol... Nah, I'll just give it my all. I was always a HPCC, HPGW and a HPHG fan... Always thought he would end up with Hermione... Also, I'm trying to keep everyone in character, which is always a little hard since I never created them. Another thing, I thought Cho deserved a realistic background. I see all these fanfics of where Cho comes from a powerful, rich family and stuff like that, which I'm not saying it's bad, cause it's not, but I just... Wanted to do things a bit different, that's all. So thank you for your review and I hope to live up to the expectations. Now to work on my fanfics!


Part Three:

Last Chapter

The Fidelius Charm

"Not really much to it. I guess it's because you said you'll stand for him and his family…"

"I guess he's not a complete ungrateful git after all… Just a really big git…"

Hermione fiercely pulled out a book that must've weighed at least ten pounds and started to beat Ron half-to-death with it. "Why – do – you – have – to – be – so – MEAN! He's – just – trying – to – say – 'SORRY'!"

"Ow – Ow – OUCH! Quit it – 'Mione!" Ron pleaded, covering his body with his arms.

"AND – MY – NAME – ISN'T – 'MIONE! IT'S – HERMIONE!"

With a few laughters from everyone in the room, Harry silently stepped out of the house and disapparated before anyone noticed.


Part Four:

Chapter Two

A Day at Diagon Alley

*Date: May 3rd, 1998/Time: Three P.M./Location: 12 Grimmauld Place*

With a bang, Harry apparated onto the top step of house he inherited from his deceased godfather, Sirius Black. With his wand already out, he tapped the door and the sounds of metal clicked continuously as deadbolts and numerous other locking mechanisms unlocked, allowing access to 12 Grimmauld Place. As he pushed the door open, he was welcomed by a breeze of musty air, forcing him to cough unpleasantly.

After several coughs, he stepped in and closed the door. He readied his nerves and took a step forward, setting off Moody's enchantment. A cloud of dust before him swirled into the likeness of Dumbledore and glided to Harry, stretching out his hand as if to strangle him.

Without hesitation, Harry mumbled four words under his depressed tone. "I didn't kill you." Like the times before, the pseudo-Dumbledore exploded, scattering dust upon the floor. Suddenly, he heard a door shut from behind as he was rugby-tackled from seemingly out of nowhere.

"YOU GIT, YOU THOUGHT WE WEREN'T GOING TO NOTICE YOU LEFT!" Ron bellowed out furiously.

"Ron, you didn't have to floor him!" Hermione shrilled loudly to her boyfriend before turning her attention to scold her best friend. "And Harry, didn't you even think to consider the possibility that the house may have curses set up by Death Eaters?"

"Mrs. Granger is right Mr. Potter." Kingsley replied slowly with his deep, rough voice as Ron stood up, helping Harry back to his feet.

With adjustment to his glasses to fix them from their askew state, he turned to his red-headed friend. "Doesn't me you have to floor me like that…"

With color flooding his cheeks out of embarrassment, Ron sank his head in disappointment. "You shouldn't have just left like that Harry… We were worried…"

"You three stay here. I will search the house for any curses." Kingsley pulled out his wand and muttered the incantation for light. "Lumos Maxima."

"Kingsley, is it ok if I call Kreacher from Hogwarts? Maybe he can help us." Harry asked, as he watched the temporary Minister raise his wand arm, casting the light throughout the dark corridor on the ground floor.

"Good thinking Mr. Potter. Please, call for your house elf." Without hesitation, Kingsley made his way downstairs to the kitchen, planning to work his way from bottom to top.

"Kreacher." Harry mumbled lightly and in an instant, his house elf apparated in front of them.

"Yes, master?" The elf croaked as his eyes shimmered with happiness upon seeing his master, still wearing the locket of Regulus Arcturus Black.

"Can you please tell us what happened after we left?" Harry asked, crouching down to Kreacher's eyesight as the ex-Aurora made way upstairs through the kitchen.

"Of course master. Kreacher was making Master and his friends' steak-and-kidney pie, expecting them to come back. Suddenly, a man busted through the front door, trying to raid the place all by myself. Stupid wizard he was. Kreacher immediately grabbed a pan from the kitchen and hit the stupid wizard upon the head." The house elf replied excitedly as a grin stretched upon his face in satisfaction.

"What happened next Kreacher? What did you do with the wizard?" Harry watch from the corner of his eye as Kingsley made his way up the stairs, his long black robes dragging from behind.

"After performing magic, Kreacher was able to remove the memories from the stupid wizard and blasted him out of the house; toward his friends that were keeping watch. It was a funny sight indeed." Kreacher let out a low, mental laugh before continuing on. "With a bang, the stupid wizard flew at the Death Eaters. They didn't have time to react. Kreacher stood there laughing as the stupid wizard slammed into the two death eaters."

"When did you go to Hogwarts?"

"Almost immediately afterwards, Master. Kreacher knew Grimmauld Place wasn't safe any more. While dealing with one stupid wizard was easy, Kreacher knew he might have more unwelcomed visitors, so Kreacher locked the house as best as he could and went straight to Hogwarts Kitchen."

"You've done well Kreacher. I'm just happy you didn't get hurt."

"All is good, Mr. Potter." Kingsley called from above with his slow, deep voice. "I don't think any Death Eaters even got in the house after you guys left. I didn't sense the presence of any dark magic." Kingsley trotted down the steps before coming face to face with Harry.

"Now don't do that again, ok Mr. Potter? Mrs. Granger, may I ask you watch over Mr. Potter here, just to make sure he doesn't do anything rash?"

"Why does she have to be here? Voldemort's gone, so why do I still continue to be watched? Besides, Hermione still has to find her parents!"

"I know about Mrs. Granger's parents. She already informed me back at Hogwarts. We're already doing everything we can to locate them and return their lost memories. As to why you still have to be watched is because there still could be Death Eaters on the loose. We're not sure yet, but there could be some, and I'm sure they would very much like revenge Mr. Potter..."

Harry opened his mouth, as if wanted to argue his case, but quickly shut it. "I just took down Voldemort, certainly I can take care of myself…" With seething anger, he stormed upstairs, away from Kingsley and his friends. "Why can't they just leave me alone!"


*Date: May 5th, 1998/Time: One P.M./Location: 12 Grimmauld Place*

Two days passed by, allowing Harry to reflect over what happened, causing him to sink into depression again. He was lying down in Sirius' room, surround by all the gold and scarlet banners of Gryffindor when a call echoed out to him from below.

"Harry, I'm back wit the food! Oh, and you got an owl!" Hermione called out as she just walked through the front door while a rather large owl was able to swoop in before the door closed.

"Who would owl me? Certainly anyone who wants to talk to me would just come and see me." As the thought ended, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and made way out of the Gryffindor styled room. He creaked down the aged flight of stairs quietly; trying his best not to set off the bloody portrait of Sirius' deceased mother.

After successfully navigating the creaking stairs quietly, he made way to the dining room on the ground floor. Rounding the corner, he saw only Hermione, figuring Ron returned to the Burrows. His eyes scanned the room until noticing the one thing out of place; a tiny Eagle Owl, no bigger than Pigwidgeon, tilting its head as it stared back with its beady golden eyes.

"It looks like a Eurasian Eagle Owl." Hermione remarked smartly after only glancing at the owl before heading downstairs to the kitchen.

"How can you even tell the difference?"

"Well, you see the structure of the wings and how the beak's shaped?" Hermione replied from below. "Not to mention the color of the feathers and the-"

"N-nevermind Hermione. I'll take your word for it." Harry crouched down and lightly tugged the envelope out of the owl's beak and noticed a very fine, slanted handwriting scrawled on the envelope. 'To Harry James Potter'.

"Well Harry, we have to get going." Hermione called from below as she pulled the last of the bread out of her never-ending handbag before finally heading back up to the ground floor.

"What? Where are we going?"

"We have to get ourselves proper dress robes."

"Oh right… But what about the owl?"

"Come on Harry, Kreacher can take care of it."

"Oh, right…" He completely forgot about Kreacher. Still not use to having a house elf and forgetting to ask the house elf to help him with stuff around the house, caused the house elf to become gloomy, like as if he wants to be ordered around.

"Kreacher!" Harry called out loudly; making sure his house elf heard him, even though it wasn't necessary. With a loud crack, Kreacher stood before Harry.

"Yes Master?" Kreacher looked up, his eyes shimmering as if he was hopeful.

"I was wondering, you would mind taking care of the owl while we're out? Hermione and I need to go pick up some things."

"Of course Master! Kreacher is pleased to help Master!" Kreacher called out happily, his eyes shimmering so brightly, he swore he saw tears before Kreacher bolted to the owl to attend to it.

"House elves are weird… At least he's no longer insulting us. I guess I did the right thing in giving him the locket." With a small smile at seeing Kreacher genuinely happy, Harry followed Hermione out of the front door, tucking the letter in his jeans before grabbing her hand and apparating with her to Diagon Alley


*Date: Same/Time: Ten Past One P.M./Location: Diagon Alley: Outside Leaky Cauldron*

With a faint 'pop', Harry and Hermione appeared out of nowhere into the cobble stone street of Diagon Alley, just on the other side of the brick wall separating Diagon Alley and Leaky Cauldron. Harry swiftly looked around, taking in the sight of all the numerous amounts of shops and empty stalls in the area. Suddenly, his eyes caught a sign dangling in the dusty windows of a particular shop: Quality Quidditch Supplies.

After a few seconds, Hermione noticed his distraction and followed his eyesight, noticing the same sign. Before she could turn back to Harry, she noticed him walking past Potage's Cauldron Shop on the left and Slug & Jigger's Apothecary on the right. "Boys and their brooms… At least he's smiling again."

Hermione strolled up behind Harry silently, catching up with him inside the dusty shop that hasn't seen much business lately and instantly noticed Harry's huge grin. "Hey, Harry, how about we make a stop at Gringotts and come back here to buy some stuff…. Harry?" Hermione called out his name as she waved her hands in front of him.

Completely entranced, in front of him was a new professional broom. Its handle was made of Holly, just like his wand; with it stained, giving it a rich dark brown color. Suddenly, the owner of the shop came up to him. "Ah, why if it isn't THE Harry Potter! It's a pleasure to have you here in this shop, most definitely a pleasure! My name's Scott, Scott McClellan."

Harry looked up at the owner and noticed he was dressed in an aged quidditch outfit that was older than he was. He noticed the unique layout of the brown hide on the arms and shins. "Hello Mr. McClellan. Nice quidditch outfit. Seeker, right?"

"Ah, yes, most definitely. I was a seeker for several years on England's Appleby Arrows back in the 70's. Though this outfit seen it years, I still proudly wear it. So how can I help you? I seen you've taken an interest in our newest, world-class broom."

"Most definitely sir." Harry answered quickly and nervously. "Is this better than the Firebolt?"

"Better? In fact, it's the next model. It's the Lightningbolt. Same makers as the Firebolt, the Broom Bolts Ltd. They used a different wood this time, Holly, not quite sure the stain they used though. The usual diamond hard polish to prevent scratches and includes several charms: the trademark Bolt Braking charm, Permanent Cushion charm, Anti-Jinx varnish, Vibration-Control charm and an Unbreakable Charm.

"Also they embedded a phoenix feather into the handle, allowing it to take on tremendous amount of weight as if it was nothing. In fact, the broom weighs almost nothing as it is. They streamlined the birch twigs more so, like they do with each model, so now this baby can reach its maximum speed, 200 miles per seconds, in just 10 seconds flat. I don't see the need for that neck-breaking speed, but I guess it helps.

"Also, if you leave the broom alone, it will hover above the ground as a comfortable mounting height, just like Firebolt. Oh, and the stirrups on the Thunderbolt are pivotal, allowing you to rest your feet comfortable in several positions, and to think that's only some of the things about this new broom!" McClellan finished with a chortled.

"How much is it?" Harry asked in amazement as he followed the unique contours of the golden, Blackadder ITC fonted letters of 'Lightningbolt'.

"1,000 Galleons."

"That would be a fairly large bag…" Harry summarized absentmindedly.

"And a heavy one at that too Harry. That's why they have bank checks at Gringotts."

Harry turned his head; only now noticing Hermione was there with him. "They do?"

"Yes Harry. We'll get you a bank check for this store and several others, so can we just go now. We really need to get going. You need to get tailored and everything!"

Finally being brought back down to Earth by Hermione's glare, Harry remembered why they came here in the first place. To buy dress robes for the funerals tomorrow. "Oh… Yeah… I'll be back later Mr. McClellan."

"Please, just call me Scott! See you later than!" The quidditch store owner waved happily as the two left the dusty store, making their way farther down the street to Gringotts.


*Date: Same/Time: Half Past One P.M./Location: Ministry of Magic: The Minister's Office*

Sitting behind a large, wooden desk in a plush, red cushioned chair, Kingsley was massaging his head thoroughly. A solid knock rang through the room, causing more pain to his temple.

"Enter." Kingsley replied in a tired voice. He only heard the door open and shut quickly, though quietly.

"Minister, it's about the Death Eaters."

"How many are we missing?"

"That's just it sir. We finished interrogating all of them using Veritaserum and it seems like we have everyone. Not a single Death Eater on the loose!"

Kingsley head shot right up as a small smile spread across his face. It was the best news he heard in the past few days. From angry werewolves to blood-thirsty vampires and every dark creature in between that Voldemort managed to recruit to his side was still on the rise, even though their common leader, Voldemort, was killed. They seem to want revenge, and Kingsley was the one to clean it up.

Upon all of this, he had to work with the Aurora Department and the Department of Law Enforcement to get information out of the Death Eaters, so they can determine who was a threat and who wasn't. He wouldn't want to take on EVERY werewolf, just the bad ones, much like Fenrir Greyback.

"I knew that being Minister of Magic would be hard, but it's only been three days! Thankfully I don't have any hair or it would be turning gray by now." Kingsley rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking back up. "Well then, that's good to hear. So do we know who our main enemies are?"

"Yes Minister. The main enemies are Greyback and his followers. The vampires never did decide whether to side with You-Know-Who or us, since they have it better off than the werewolves. As for the giants, they really don't care. The Death Eaters present them with gifts and they did his bidding. Most of them don't have a reason to fight against us now that You-Know-Who is dead. The acromantulas that attacked us were only there because You-Know-Who flushed them out of their home. They were severely angry at wizards for having our affairs disturb them."

"Wait, how did you find out about the giants and the acromantulas?"

"Through Rubeus Hagrid, the Groundskeeper of Hogwarts. He seems to know the acromantulas, though he told us no one is safe in their den, not even him since someone named Aragog died. He started to get all teary-eyed at that moment. It was quite awkward." The red-haired man began to scratch the side of his head.

"Yeah, that would be Hagrid. Nice fellow, but has a big soft spot for monsters. Even tried to raise a dragon himself and a female one at that…"

"Yeah… I recall that little incident. Still think he's barking mad for even trying that alone…"

"Now, back to the matter at hands, how many werewolves are we looking at here? Are they doing this out of revenge for Voldemort?"

"No Minister. Although they are angry about loosing him since he promised them freedom, I believe they're out for blood since Dolores Umbridge passed those laws constricting the rights of werewolves."

"Ah yes… Dolores Umbridge… Now that you bring her up, I think it's time we bring her to justice. She's too tainted to leave around during the reformation of the Ministry of Magic."

"I quite agree Minister. I bet everything I have she would do anything and everything to stop you if she knew what you were up too."

"I know, I know. We, the Ministry, need to become fair and just to all citizens of the Magical Community, whether they be wizards, elves, goblins, vampires, werewolves, centaurs, giants or any other magical creature. It will take time, but we need to right ourselves again. On another note, have you gotten the confirmation to hand out the awards for tomorrow?"

"Yes I have. All seven department heads agreed on the awards."

"That will be all Percy. Again, thank you for aiding me."

"It's the best I can do since I screwed up with the last two Ministers…" Stepping back, the Weasley left the room as quietly as he came.


*Date: Same/Time: Half Past One P.M./Location: Diagon Alley: Outside Gringotts Bank*

After the long ride in Gringotts to withdraw more galleons from Harry's vault, 687, which was almost filled to the brim with the 'small fortune' he inherited from his godfather, Harry and Hermione were able to snag some Gringotts Checks before leaving the bank. With a deep breath, the two exhaled in satisfaction to be above ground again, Hermione's handbag jingling with galleons.

"Never thought I would miss the sun this much! Sheesh Harry, your vault is way down there."

"Sorry Hermione. It's not like I can choose where my vault is. At least it wasn't the Lestrange's Vault" Harry laughed lightly as he tucked away his golden key before Hermione brought up the subject the goblins were talking about.

"Harry, do you know why they kept saying that they would see you very soon?"

This puzzled Harry deeply. Trying to think as to why the goblins would indeed be saying that, but each time, he remembered the way the goblins were looking at him, which sent shivers down his spine. "No, I really don't know why. I hope they aren't thinking of kidnapping me or something because of the Sword of Gryffindor incident. Or because we broke into their bank and took off with their dragon…"

"I forgot all about that… So that's why they were glaring at us so much…"

"Could be... Anyways, should we go to Madam Malkin's first?" Harry asked as his vibrant green eyes lingered to the unseen quidditch store around the bend of the cobble stone street.

Following his eyesight, Hermione quickly replied before it was too late. "Yes Harry, we should go to Madam Malkin's first." Harry frowned lightly before he followed Hermione towards the store only a few paces away.

As they stepped through the doors, Harry noticed the rather large lady, Mrs. Malkin, already flicking her wand around, sending a needle and thread to tailor the robes on a blonde haired boy, allowing her to help her new customers.

"Yes, what can I do for you two day?" Mrs. Malkin called out sweetly as she made way to her customers.

"Hello Mrs. Malkin. Harry and I will need proper dress robes for a funeral." Hermione replied as she glanced around the shop, looking for at all the different types of robes she had. "No wonder this place is called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. This place has so many different styles; I never knew there could be this many!"

"Ah, another two for the Hogwarts Funeral huh?" Mrs. Malkin quickly took lengths of various body parts of the two and immediately jotted them down with a hovering quill. "I know EXACTLY which ones to get. Let me retrieve them from the back." With the measurements in hand, she scurried off to the end of the store, for displaying funeral robes up front would not do well for business.

Harry's eyes drifted to the blonde boy in front of him, who seems to be wearing a set of the blackest funeral robes he ever saw. Upon seeing the needle and thread were no longer moving, he came to the conclusion that the tailoring was done. Finally focusing his sights on the mirror, he knew who it was. "Malfoy…"

Upon recognizing his surname and the voice, the Slytherin spun on his heel and toes, facing his long-time rival. "Potter…" Draco remarked with a bit of bite to it, before clenching his eyes shut and tilting his head as if he was holding himself back with great difficulty.

"I don't think I could ever get use to being nice to you."

"It's the LEAST you can do since he SAVED YOUR LIFE!" Hermione replied vehemently, her voice shrilling towards the end as she defended her friend.

"How DARE you speak to me you…" Draco repeated the same motions, obviously restricting himself. "Curse these old habits… Anyways, since we bumped into each other, I might as well tell you that the court date is set for the 10th, 9 A.M. I hope you'll keep to your word, Potter." With a stiff nod towards him and Hermione, he placed a galleon upon the counter and disapparated.

"He stopped himself from calling me a mudblood…" Hermione surmised as she stared blankly at the spot where Draco vanished. "I guess he's finally thinking for himself instead of blindly following the traditions of his family…"

"It would seem so… He did give back your handbag, which had your wand in it." Harry commented as he placed his hands into his pockets out of boredom. Upon feeling a letter in one of them, he pulled out the forgotten letter and stared at it blankly as he began to rip it open slowly. "I wonder who wrote me…"

"Well Harry, you're going to have to read that later. Here comes Mrs. Malkin with our robes."

With a small frown, Harry tucked the half-opened envelope back into his dark blue jeans as the store owner motioned for him to step forth in front of the mirror, letting her place the robes over his long-sleeved, dark gray buttoned shirt and his dark blue jeans.


*Date: Same/Time: Two P.M./Location: Diagon Alley: Madam Malkin's*

To Harry, it seemed like hours for Mrs. Malkin to tailor the robes for him, even though it was only 10 minutes. It took another 10 minutes before the store owner was finally finished with Hermione, leaving Harry enough time to read the letter he recently received.

"So, who's the letter from Harry?" Hermione asked as she pulled off her robes, revealing her to be wearing a light blue hoodie and dark blue skinny jeans; a small smirk on her face from already knowing who it's from.

"It's… It's from Cho… She wants to meet up with me at the ice cream parlor at 2:30, but wasn't it mentioned in the papers two days ago that they found Florean dead?" Harry asked as he stared out of the window, looking at the ice cream parlor across the street, which was oddly-lit.

"Yes, you're right Harry, Florean Fortescue is dead, but if you actually read the article, his brothers, Ben and Jerry Fortescue, took over the shop and it just reopened yesterday. It also said that all profits and donations would go to his funeral." Hermione answered back as she placed Harry's robes in her handbag, walking with him out of the store.

"I still don't see why Death Eaters would drag off Florean and kill him. He was a nice person."

"Because he knew you. Didn't you say he served you ice cream like everyday before our third year while you stayed in the Leaky Cauldron? Certainly you guys must've talked?"

"Well yeah, of course we talked Hermione. Kinda hard not to talk to the guy giving you free ice cream every half-an-hour, but he was only helping me on my homework. We didn't talk about anything else really." Harry replied as they just passed the entrance to Flourish and Blott's on their left, continuing to walk up the unleveled street.

"But the Death Eaters didn't know that. They came for him because he MIGHT of had useful knowledge on you and when they figured out he didn't, they just killed him…" Hermione sighed heavily, catching the sight of the magical instrument store to her right.

"But he was harmless! It's not like he posed a threat to them!" Harry spat out furiously.

Hermione turned towards her friend and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her lips to his ears as she whispered sweetly to him. "I know Harry, but that's war. I'm just happy it's finally over… Voldemort's gone and you're alive…"

After a long moment of a single tight hug, she dropped her arms and continued walking up the cobble stone street of Diagon Alley, reaching closer and closer to their next destination. "Now let's go to that quidditch store to cheer you up. Afterwards, you can go meet up with Cho. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again."

"But Hermione… I don't think I even want to see anyone-" Harry remarked as his green eyes dropped to the floor like lead weight, his feet falling in step behind Hermione.

"Harry James Potter." Harry froze in place as Hermione called out his full name, knowing this isn't going to be good. She swiftly turned around and raised a finger at him. "You can't mope around constantly just because Ginny's dead."

"Don't forget Fred and Lupin and Tonks and the other fifty-" He remarked as pain crossed his face.

"I haven't forgotten the rest Harry, but Ginny's death hurt you the most! Do you think Ginny would actually want you to be like this?" He remarked fiercely as she took a step towards the black-haired man before her.

"No, but-"

"But nothing Harry! No one who died wants you to mourn for them! They would want you to be happy now that Voldemort's gone!" Hermione closed the space between the both of them again, their nose almost touch. Hermione cupped her hands softly around the cheeks of Harry before whispering to him gently. "It's ok to be sad, but you must be happy for them, Harry…"

Harry closed his eyes as he remembered his conversation with Dumbledore when he was in a state of limbo. 'Don't pity the dead, Harry.' "You're right Dumbledore and Hermione; I should be happy because they would want me to be happy."

With a gentle smile, he opened his eyes and found the brown eyes of the beautiful girl before him. With a strange urge to kiss her, he fiercely buried the urge and instead gave her a tight embrace.

"You really are the smartest and sweetest girl I ever met, Hermione." Harry whispered into her ears during the long embrace.

Flustered by his comment, she nervously placed her hands on his back before returning the hug with equal force. "And you're the bravest, kindest and modest guy I ever met, Harry." Hermione replied with a light sigh before realizing what just slipped her tongue. "Oh no… It sounds like I'm declaring my love to him! Wait, did I just think 'declaring my love to him'? Oh God… I couldn't possibly! No! I think of him as a brother! It's just sibling love… Yeah… That's it…"

With several nervous pats on his back, she broke apart from their embrace, still standing together in the deserted street of Diagon Alley. "Now… Let's just… Go to that quidditch store…" Hermione replied as she tried her best to hide her blush.

"Yeah, that would be nice. Just to kill time before meeting up with Cho." Harry replied semi-happily as he led the way to Quality Quidditch Supplies to buy the new Thunderbolt broom.

After a minute of walking in awkward silence, Harry began to speak again. "I've been wondering Hermione, why does it seem so quiet? Isn't Diagon Alley usually packed with people?"

Hermione stayed silent for a few moments before finally replying to Harry's question. "I think it's because the war only just ended." Hermione faced Harry only to be met with a questioned look on his face. "What I mean is that everyone is with their family or finally returning back home. Think about it Harry. The first thing people want to do is return back to their homes and families, not hang out at Diagon Alley. Especially since the school year just ended early… Again…"

"I guess… It's just odd that's all." Harry asked as they walked in the quidditch store.

As soon as the two entered the store, they were both met by the same man; Scott. "Ah, so you have come back Harry Potter. A good day for me indeed!" The owner exclaimed enthusiastically.

"And why's that Mr. McClellan?" Hermione asked politely.

"Ah, because business hasn't been good lately, thanks to those Death Eaters. But thanks to Mr. Potter here, You-Know-Who is gone and all his followers has been sent off to Azkaban! So business should pick back up soon enough and what other way for business to pick back up than to have the Chosen One buy a very expensive broom. A good way for business to pick back up indeed…" McClellan beamed at Harry as he led him towards the broom.

"So, is there anything else you would like to buy Mr. Potter, or will the broom just do?"

"No, no, the broom will do for now. I might need to come back and get new quidditch gear though…" Harry mumbled as he remembered he left all his quidditch gear back at Privet Drive almost a year ago.

Scott patted him excitedly on his back, sending his glasses askew. "Don't worry Mr. Potter. If you ever need new quidditch gear, just come to me! I'll be more than happy to have you as a customer!"

Harry placed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose and swiftly pulled out a check from Gringotts. As he received a quill and ink bottle from Scott, he swiftly added his signature, the amount to be withdrawn and to whom it to be given to on the rectangular parchment before handing it to Mr. McClellan. "I believe that is all I have to do, Mr. McClellan."

"You forgot to tap it with your wand Mr. Potter."

"Huh? I have to tap it with my wand?"

"Harry… You weren't even paying attention to the goblins were you?"

"Sorry Hermione…" Harry apologized as he hanged his head.

"What am I going to do with you…? Anyways, all you have to do is tap it with your wand. Then Mr. McClellan taps it with his wand and it's all done."

"Why do I have to tap it with my wand?"

"It's a precaution against forgery Mr. Potter. You leave a bit of your own magical signature. Like fingerprints, everyone has their own magical signature."

"So I just tap it with my wand right? No incantations or anything?" After receiving a no from Hermione, Harry pulled out his phoenix core wand and tapped the check lightly with his wand, sending out gold sparks upon contact. McClellan repeated Harry but shot out blue sparks.

"And with that, it is done. Do you want the broom to be boxed?"

"No thank you." Harry replied as he beamed at Hermione. As he received the broom, Harry and Hermione promptly left the store, leaving the owner to bolt off to turn in the check immediately.

"Well, now that's done, I think I'll be going back to Grimmauld Place. Should I take the broom with me, Harry?"

"I would appreciate it Hermione." Harry replied with a smile. He quickly wrapped his arms around Hermione for a quick hug. "See you later Hermione." Harry whispered before releasing her from his hug. She grabbed the new broom from Harry and slid it into her bottomless handbag. With a pivot of her feet, Hermione disapparated, leaving Harry to make way to the ice cream parlor.


*Date: Same/Time: Half Past Two P.M./Location: Diagon Alley: Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor*

As Hermione left, Harry turned around, his back facing the Leaky Cauldron and made his way down Diagon Alley once again. Passing the familiar stores and empty stands along the street, Fortescue's came into view. Immediately, he noticed that only two people were in the store, in which neither of them were the Ravenclaw whom he was looking forward to seeing.

With a deep sigh, Harry sat down in one of the small tables located outside of the parlor. Harry breathed in deeply as he felt the light warmth of the sun press against his skin. His green eyes surveyed the area again, mainly noticing white marbled building of Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" A male voice called unexpectedly from behind, finally coming into view. "Oh, if it isn't Mr. Potter! My name's Jerry, nice to meet you! Florean told us all about you."

Harry began to nervously scratch the back of his black messy hair. "Uh, yeah… He helped me out with my homework over the witch hunts a few years back. I'm sorry to hear he died… In fact…" Harry rummaged through the pocket of his dark blue jeans and finally pulled out a fistful of galleons and placed them in Jerry's hand. "I hope this will help cover the funeral for your brother."

"But I could possibly accept this much as a donation!" Jerry exclaimed as he counted out the galleons, totaling up to twenty-five.

"Well then, consider it payment for all those free ice cream sundaes he gave me." Harry pleaded with the co-owner of the shop as another male stepped out.

"Jerry, what's going on?"

"Oh, hey Ben. Mr. Potter here just gave me twenty-five galleons as a donation for the funeral."

"THE Harry Potter?" Ben called out as he also stepped into Harry's view.

Harry examined both males before him. Both of them had brown hair and beards, like their brother Florean, and both appeared to be in their 40's. Ben was wearing brown pants and a long red buttoned shirt as Jerry was wearing black pants and a long blue buttoned shirt. "Their eyes are both brown, their noses are bent the same, even freckles seems to be in the same places…" Harry thought for a moment before finally catching on. "Hey, you guys are twins, aren't you!"

"Why Ben, I think he got us!" Jerry exclaimed cheerfully.

"Indeed so Jerry! I thought for sure that if we wore different clothes, no one could tell we're twins!" Ben gave a mighty laugh as he smiled at Harry. "So what can we get for you Mr. Potter?"

"Oh, nothing right now. I'm waiting on a friend." Harry replied sheepishly.

"Oh, a friend huh? The friend wouldn't happen to be a girl would it?" Jerry asked quizzically, grinning as Harry responded with a blush and complete silence.

"Oh and this girl would happen to be Asian would she?" Ben asked with a smirk.

"H-how did you know-" In an instant, Harry's vision was blinded by a pair of hands. He felt wave of warm air brush passed his ear.

"Because I'm right behind you Harry. And I think two sundaes will do." Cho whispered out sweetly from behind as Ben and Jerry left them.

With the sound of his name escaping the lips of the familiar Ravenclaw, shivers ran down his spine and throughout his body in excitement. "Ch-Cho? When did you get here?" Harry asked blindly.

Slowly, Cho removed her hands from Harry's eyes and sat down across from him. "Just now actually. I'm happy you got my letter in time. Sorry for the last minute set-up Harry." Cho apologized sweetly with her soft voice, her hands reaching across the table and grasping Harry's. "So how are you doing Harry?"

Harry's green eyes her locked upon her slender, hourglass figure hidden behind her white, long-sleeved, buttoned shirt and classic, gray schoolgirl skirt. Finally, his eyes found her's; green seeing brown and brown seeing green. With a deep breath to calm his nerves, he replied.

"I'm doing better… Thankfully Hermione made me realized that I shouldn't be moping when everyone who died and everyone who's alive would rather see me smiling… Still, I'm a bit sad…" Harry tore his vibrant green eyes away from her dark brown eyes.

"Harry…" Cho released Harry's hands from her's before she cupped them around his cheeks, reconnecting their eyes again. "I know how you feel… You lost Ginny just as I lost Cedric, but all we really can do is move on with our lives." Cho swiftly dropped her hands from Harry's cheek and gripped his hands once again.

Harry hanged his head, tearing his eyes from Cho's again. "I know Cho… I just…"

Cho leaned in, her eyes meeting with Harry's again. "Want to cry? Want to be with those who died? I know Harry, I know… But you can't. You have to smile. You have to be with those who are alive today; here and now." Cho gave a reassuring smile, causing Harry to bring his head back up.

"Thank you Cho. I needed that." Harry gave a small smile as sundaes were placed on the table.

"Thanks Jerry!" Cho smiled as she picked up a spoon and took a bite out of her sundae.

"Yeah, thanks Jerry." Harry replied as he imitated Cho, digging in after her.

"No problem kids." Jerry chuckled lightly as he received glares from the two. "Oh, I'm sorry, adults… Have fun!" Jerry remarked as he emphasized on 'adults' and left with a goofy smirk plastered on his face.

After several bites and a few moments of silence, Harry finally spoke. "So why are you going back to Hogwarts? I thought you already finished."

Resting her spoon in the ice cream Cho folded her hands together before resting her chin upon them. "Well, the thing is the N.E.W.T.s were postponed after Dumbledore died. Mrs. McGonagall told us to come back at the beginning of the following year to retake them, but I didn't. We all knew something up, so mum and dad packed everything up and took me with them back to China."

"But… Why don't you just take the N.E.W.T.s at the beginning of this year?"

"Because Harry, even though I'm a Ravenclaw, I can't remember EVERYTHING I learned in that insane year. Yes, it will be easier this year because it's mostly repeat, but I still rather not risk it…"

"Oh, I see. Is 7th year really that bad?" Harry asked nervously.

"It's worse that you think Harry, but don't worry. If you need help, I'll help you." Cho reassured Harry with a gentle smile.

"Thanks… Anyways, how did you know about the battle? How did you get back to Hogwarts in time to fight?" Harry asked feverishly.

Cho dug her hand into her breast pocket and pulled out a golden coin, similar to a Galleon. "I held onto our D. A. coin. One early morning, just as I was starting to wake up, I felt it heat up in my hand."

Cho breathed out a sigh heavy with sadness. "I wrote down a note for my parents and immediately apparated into Hog's Head, or at least tried to. It took a few tries because apparating long distances tend to be inaccurate. It only took me 5 times though. Thankfully we moved back here just yesterday, so I don't have to do that again."

"You apparated to another continent?" Harry let out a low whistle is amazement before getting back onto topic. "Why didn't you wake up your parents?"

"Well, they wouldn't have let me go if I woke them..." Cho's eyes squinted in disdain as she shifted her eyesight to the side.

"I bet you got yelled out pretty badly after all said and done."

"Yeah… My parents are still mad at me. That's why I'm looking for a place to stay right now." Cho swiftly took another bite of her sundae as she began to pout. "But I have no luck… I rather not stay at the Leaky Cauldron because the rent there is too much…"

"Well…" Harry fiddled around with his spoon, pushing the ice cream from one side to the other. "I have my own place with several empty bedrooms… Hermione is staying there with me, but I'm sure she won't mind…"

"Are you asking me to move in with you Harry James Potter, when you have another girl living with you?" Cho raised her thin, black eyebrows as she asked with her soft voice.

Immediately, Harry's cheeks flooded with embarrassment. "I mean, only if you want to…"

Cho let the silence press on for a few moments before finally replying to the nervous Harry Potter before her. "Ok. I'll move in with you… On one condition."

Harry stared back at Cho with his green eyes. "What would that be?" Harry asked nervously.

Cho let the silence press on for another few moments before giving her demand. "If you take me out on a date… A real date… Not like Valentine's Day"

Harry immediately looked away. "Uh… I'm sorry Cho, but I'm not sure I'm ready to date…"

"I didn't mean the next day, Harry… I mean when you're ready to date again, take me out on a date first, before you ask any other lucky girl."

Harry looked back and saw Cho looking away sheepishly, mindlessly scratching her flawless cheek, with a single finger, nervously. "How can I say no when she's like this…" Harry thought as a gentle smile spread across his face. "Deal."

Cho turned back to Harry, looking like she just got hit by a stunning curse. "Really?" Cho finally spat out half-excitedly, half-nervously.

"Really. Go grab your stuff and apparate into the Leaky Cauldron. I'll meet with you there, ok?" Harry asked as he rose from his seat, eating the last pieces of the never-melting sundae.

"Ok." Cho smiled as she imitated Harry before pulling out her wand and spinning on her feet, disapparating.

Harry promptly stood up and placed a galleon upon the table as he pulled out his wand. With a swift turn of a foot, Harry too disappeared into nothingness.


*Date: Same/Time: Three P.M./Location: 12 Grimmauld Place*

Harry immediately appeared out of nowhere on the top step of his apartment. With a simple tap of his wand against the door, the familiar clicks of metal rang through the door. When the clicking ceased, Harry pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Hermione!" Harry called out loudly as he closed the door behind him.

"What is it Harry?"

"I need you to write something." Harry bellowed out again as he made way to the dining room.

"Harry," Hermione called out as she came down the aged flight of stairs, no longer worrying about Ms. Black's portrait for she placed a strong silencing charm on it. "Certainly you can write it!"

"Actually, I can't, or rather, it would be ineffective if I did."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, perplexed to Harry's answer."

"I need you to write down the address to 12 Grimmauld Place."

"Who did we forget Harry?" Hermione asked as she rummaged through her bottomless handbag before finally giving up. "Accio quill, accio ink, accio parchment!" A quill, ink bottle and a roll of parchment flew out her bag and landed neatly upon the dining table.

Harry looked up nervously to Hermione, knowing she was still expecting an answer to her question. "Cho… Is coming to live with us…" Harry answered just as she dipped her quill into the ink bottle.

Hermione froze as she heard him utter her name. "What! Cho is coming… To LIVE… With us!" Hermione vehemently spat out before massaging her temple. "Why am I acting this way? It's Harry's house, he has the right to decide who lives here and who doesn't…" And as if on cue, Harry spoke.

"Hermione, I know you don't like her that much, but she needs a place to stay, so I extended my hospitality to her. So will you please write down the address." Harry asked sternly to female friend.

Hermione double-taked as Harry, complete confused in by his statement. She knew he poised it as a question, but they way he said it; she knew it was more of a statement. Before she could think, words slipped out of her mouth. "Are you two dating now?" Instantly, she dropped the writing quill and clapped both hands over her mouth in disbelief.

Slowly, Harry blinked slowly at her question, confused as to why it would matter to her, before his cheeks flustered with embarrassment and started to scratch the back of his messy hair nervously. "Well… No… But I promised to take her on a date when I'm ready to well… Date."

Hermione stared at Harry for several long moments before finally lowering her hands. Hermione sighed heavily as she redipped her quill. "Not like I really have a choice…" Hermione mumbled under her breath as she bent over to write the address on the corner of the parchment, her bushy brown hair sprawled around the parchment.

After several quick scratches, Hermione tore off the said corner and handed it to Harry. "I hope you know what you're doing Harry…"

Harry pulled the parchment out from the tips of her fingers and wrapped his arms around her again. "Thank you Hermione. You really are the best." With a swift kiss on her cheek, he ran out the door and disapparated, leaving Hermione to brush the cheek where he just kissed her. "Dammit Harry… Why do you have to be so nice… Now I'm really confused…"


*Date: Same/Time: Three P.M./Location: Somewhere in the U. K.*

Cho appeared on a sidewalk and immediately began to walk down the spacious neighborhood; passing up three mansions on her right and three mansions on her left, before finally opening the metal gate to her house via keypad. With a sound of confirmation, the metal gates rattled and were slowly pulled apart. With a small smile, she paced up the short driveway and through the double front doors.

She quickly climbed up the stairs, her heels clicking with each step, and made her way through the two story house. After navigating the first floor, she found her room. She quickly pulled out her wand and flicked it several times, sending all her clothes and school materials into her own expanded purse. With a light snap, she shut her thin, silver purse and walked out of her room and proceeded back down the stairs.

"Cho, where are you going?" A sweet voice called out from behind in a pleading tone.

Cho swiftly spun around, her long black hair fanning out, and noticed it was her mother who was asking. "I decided it's time for me to finally leave home, mum."

"But what about school? You still have a year left."

"I know mum. I'll visit you during Christmas break, ok." Cho replied sweetly before walking up to her mother, each step fell silently. She gently wrapped her slender arms around her mother for a few moments before bring them back down to her side.

"Are you doing this because you're still mad at your father? You know he took us with him to China to keep you safe-"

"So it's ok for us to be safe and not fight for what's right mum?" Cho spat out venomously. "You know I wanted to stay and fight! You know I wanted to stay and help Harry! I'm sorry for leaving China without daddy's permission, but my friends needed me and I couldn't stand by and do nothing!" Cho's eyes began to well up out of frustration, her vision beginning to blur.

"He was just trying to be a good father Cho… I know you know that…" Mrs. Chang lifter her hands and cupped her daughters face gently, wiping away the hot tears that streaked down her face.

"Well he should've been a father when I was growing up-"

"You know his job is very demanding Cho. It's because of him that we can live like this-"

"Job or not, he still should've been there for my birthdays, for the holidays, or at least see me off to school! But now it's too late." Cho fiercely rubbed the tears away from her eyes. "I'm an adult now. There's nothing else for him to be there for me. He already missed his chances mum."

Cho gave her mother another swift hug and immediately left the grounds, allowing her to apparate to the Leaky Cauldron as another set of tears strolled down her cheeks.


*Date: Same/Time: Half Past Three P.M./Location: The Leaky Cauldron*

Harry apparated just outside the Leaky Cauldron and made his way into the bar. Upon entering he heard a faint pop from behind. He swiftly spun around and noticed an Asian girl crying, throwing her arms around him. "Ch-Cho? Are you crying?"

With a muffled yes, she pulled apart from Harry, rubbing her tears away. With the fresh tears wiped away, she stared into the pair of vibrant green eyes she always loved. "C-Can we just go?"

"Of course Cho… Now, I need you to read this. Read it and think about it, ok Cho?" Harry asked as he slipped her the piece of parchment with Hermione's handwriting scrawled upon it. With a nod, she followed Harry out of the Leaky Cauldron and buried her face into the nook of Harry's shoulder before both of them apparated to 12 Grimmauld Place.


Part Five:

Spells

- Lumos Maxima – A spell brighter that the standard light charm.


Part Six:

Author's Notes

- Bolt Braking charm is a charm that I came up with by myself. Since it is unclear what company made the Firebolt, I came up with a company all on my own, the Broom Bolts Ltd. They came up wither their own Braking charm, much like the Horton-Keitch Braking Charm developed for the Comet Trading Company, aka, the company that make the Comet brooms… Go figure… It's a unique Braking charm and in this case, the Bolt Braking charm is superior to the Horton-Keitch Braking Charm, allowing the broom to brake quicker.

- As for the Permanent Cushioning charm, although I know there isn't one, I decided to put that up there. I mean seriously, ride a broom mustn't be that comfortable, so why not add a cushioning charm to it, and a permanent cushioning charm at that? It's just merely the permanent version of the regular cushioning charm, that's all.

- The anti-jinx varnish I got from Ron's broom, as well as the Vibration Control charm. If you didn't know, the Cleansweep Eleven has these, preventing minor jinxes from working on it and to help keep the broom steady at high altitudes.

- As for the Unbreakable Charm, that kinda came to me as I was thinking of the Permanent Sticking charm. Kinda weird way to come up with it, but none-the-less, it will keep the broom from breaking unless hit by, let's say, fiendfyre, or something of that caliber… So no-more broom-breaking for the Whomping Willow, lol, though I'm not saying the Whomping Willow won't be able to give it a shot… This year at Hogwarts is going to be crazy! Lol

- I hope you guys caught the reference to Ben and Jerry… Not Tom and Jerry, but Ben and Jerry…

- Oh, and for those who don't get the difference between disapparated, it's pretty simple. If I see you APPEAR out of no where, you just apparated. If I see you DISAPPEAR into nothingness, you just disapparated. If I go with you and ARRIVED somewhere, we just apparated. If I go with you AWAY from somewhere, we just disapparated. It's like immigration and emigration, all deals with perception.

- In Britain, the levels of houses are a bit weird. The first story is the Ground Floor, while the second story is the First Floor, the third story is the Second Floor and so on… so if I say first floor, it's the second story… America is so much simpler, lol. But that's from my point-of-view any how.

- I think I understand how Link is able to carry so many objects with him… UNDECTABLE EXTENSION CHARM FTW! lol


Part Seven:

Updates

20101206 - Added the Updates section and my responses to Orym Hawksong and OutlawKnight's reviews of Chapter Two.

20110205 - Last minute updates to do before I leave for boot camp.

26JUN2012 - Few corrections to mistypes and misspellings.


- Chapter Two -

- COMPLETE –