Disclaimer: I forgot this in the last chapter, so this is for the first and second chapter of THINGS TO COME: The characters and main ideas of the story are in no way mine, and are expected to promote the HP series, which is owned and written by Ms.Rowling.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews by: WhiteRabbit5 and ki-ki93! Glad you have enjoyed so far! Keep reading and reviewing!

Chapter 2

Harry turned and looked at the clock that now sat in the sparsely occupied room, which was now void of any of his belongings, except for Hedwig's cage. The clock read 4:52, and Harry's stomach gave a quick wave of excitement, as he realized that he would soon be leaving the Dursley's until next summer...hopefully the last one he would ever spend there. Thinking about it, the summer had been better than others, since the Dursley's hadn't spoken to Harry more than a dozen times apiece after being threatened at King's Cross.

It had been a very busy day for Harry, as he had woken after Nine a.m. It was the latest he had risen all summer, and he was still mulling over his peaceful night of sleep. Not that he wasn't happy about it, mind you, just surprised.

After waking up and eating breakfast in the empty kitchen, as the Dursley's had immediately gone out after Harry had mentioned that wizards would be coming by to pick him up for the rest of the summer, Harry had come back to his room. He had opened the rest of the letters that were on the desk, and they had consisted of birthday wishes from Hagrid, with some treacle fudge, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, and Mrs. Weasley.

After that, he had sat down and written the three essays he had yet to finish for his holiday homework. One was for potions, the other for transfigurations, and the third for charms. He had no work for DADA, as there was currently no teacher to teach that class. Hagrid had assigned no work for CoMC.

Before completing him homework, Harry had finally opened his letter from the Ministry containing his O.W.L results and his school letter.

(A/N: I have no idea how to scale O.W.L. results, so this is quick)

Potter, Harry James

Hogwarts: Gryffindor

O: Outstanding

E: Exceptional

A: Acceptable

P: Poor

T: Terrible

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Theory: O/ Practical: O

Potions: Theory: E/ Practical: O

Charms: Theory: O/ Practical: O

Care of Magical Creatures: Theory: O/ Practical: O

Transfiguration: Theory: E/ Practical: O

Astronomy: Theory: N/A / Practical: A

Divination: Theory: N/A/ Practical: A

He had been surprised and extremely happy to see that he had gotten eight O.W.L's, and all the ones that he had needed to get into N.E.W.T classes to become an auror. After that, he had opened his school letter, and had discovered that it contained the list of books that he would need. Glancing over the list, he saw that it contained quite a few new items that he would need to get in Diagon alley before the summer was over.

It was now promptly Five on the dot, and as he looked at the clock once again, he realized that he could feel the air shifting, and he recognized the magical waves that were emitted with a portkey in use. One minute Harry was the only person in his room, and in the next there stood a grinning Ron and Mr. Weasley.

"Harry mate, it's great to see you! Happy Birthday!"

Looking at his best friend, Ron was surprised to see that Harry looked quite different. He had grown, both taller and more muscular, but it was also the look in his eyes that surprised him the most. There was a sparkle there...almost like Dumbledore's. It was a look of self-confidence, yet not like Malfoy's, but quiet self belief.

Harry flashed a quick smile. "It's great to see you too Ron. Thanks for the chess set. Can you believe that we're captains?"

The two boys grinned at each other, happy to finally be equal, at least in one thing that they both enjoyed. Harry knew how much it meant to Ron that he was also a captain, and he knew that despite everything that was coming up in the wizarding world due to Voldermort's return, it would be a great year for the two of them.

Arthur Weasley cleared his throat. "Boys, we need to get going, the portkey will activate again in a minute. Harry, are all you're things ready?"

Harry nodded as he gestured to his closed trunk and Hedwig's cage. "I sent Hedwig on to the Burrow about an hour ago, if that's ok?"

"That's fine Harry, but I'm not sure if we'll be at the Burrow for the entire summer, the family might be moving to Sir...Headquarters in the next week, whatever Dumbledore decides."

Looking uncomfortable with his mention of Sirius, Arthur quickly glanced at Harry, as did Ron with a concerned look on his face, but Harry quickly glanced away.

"Well...let's go then, just a finger on the bottle, and make sure to hold onto your trunk and the cage."

He gestured to the water bottle in his hand, and they all grabbed onto the trunk, with Ron holding onto Hedwig's cage. Harry soon felt the familiar unsettling tugging under his navel, and the entire world was soon a blurring of color for a moment. Faster than Harry could take a breath, he felt his feet hit the ground, and he held fast onto the trunk, managing to end up on the trunk instead of on the floor.

Looking up (and adjusting his glasses, which we're currently hanging off of one ear), Harry saw a group of mostly redheads grinning at him.

"Harry dear, how are you doing? It's great to see you, but you're looking so thin! Lunch will be ready in just a minute! Sit, sit! Fred, George, take Harry's trunk up to Ron's room and then come right back down!" This was all said in one flustered breath, as Mrs. Weasley ran back to the stove where there were three different pots boiling on the stove, potato's peeling themselves in the sink, and the radio playing a Weird Sister's song in the background. She then quickly turned back around, ran over to Harry, gave him a tight motherly hug, and then ran out of the room.

Harry grinned at her back, and then turned back to the group still assembled in front of him. His eyes caught sight of the two Weasley twins, who were grinning at him in their matching neon-green dragon hide jackets. "Don't worry about the trunk guys, I'll take it up myself later." "No problem Harry, we'll do it, but later we would like to speak to you about some of our...business ventures."

With that said, each twin picked up a handle on each side of the trunk, and then turned and walked up the stairs...until Fred (or was it George?) lost his footing, and both boys fell back down the stairs and landed in a heap at Harry's feet.

Harry cocked an eyebrow, and asked the two a question with obvious laughter in his voice. "You two are of legal age aren't you?" The two glanced at each other and then back at Harry with a questioning look in their eyes. "Ye..." "Wingardium Leviosa, hm?" "Oh..."

Laughing, Harry turned back to the two girls that were still standing in front of him.

"Harry, it's great to see you...you haven't written nearly as much as I had hoped..."

Harry looked at the bushy haired girl in front of him, who he noticed had changed over the summer just as he had...her hair was still bushy, but looked much more relaxed, and it was sleeker and shiner. She had also grown and had, eh, filled out in certain areas.

"Hermione, I told you that there was nothing going on, that's all...I'm fine."

Even as he said the words, he knew that they weren't true...but what else could he say? Even though he knew that his friends were worried about him, and even though they were still dealing with the effects of losing his godfather, they just didn't know what they he was going through.

"Oh Harry...I just wish that you would talk to us... you need to stop shutting all of us-" "Hermione! Do you think you could leave the boy alone?!"

Everyone looked at Ginny with surprise, and she herself looked as if she couldn't believe that those words had just come out of her mouth.

A/N: I posted this chapter up today because I wanted to give you guys a little more of the story, but I'm probably going to take a few days to write out a little bit more. However, I promise that reviews will push me along! Please R&R and let me know how you want this story to go...