"Damn," he muttered, as he blinked his eyes rapidly. That was one of the strangest dreams he had ever had, and for Harry Potter, that was saying something.

Once, he had dreamed the Dark Lord had come back with the help of Wormtail and had performed the killing curse on a poor old Muggle. His scar had started hurting during the dream and had woken him up. It was a good thing too, for it had been a warning that the Dark Lord was nearby and was actually trying to kill him.

But did the dream he had last night mean anything? His scar didn't hurt so it didn't have anything to do with Lord Voldemort. Harry wondered about it as he got out of bed and got dressed. He didn't know if he should ask anyone about this. He was tempted to, but he didn't think it was important enough. It's just that, and he hated to admit this to himself. The dream was so disturbing. As if the girl was trying to tempt him.

Harry went downstairs to get breakfast and met Dudley in the hallway. Petunia and Uncle Vernon had given up on the diet two years ago and Dudley was now almost too big to fit in the hallway. Dudley gave him a fearful look as he proceeded Harry into the kitchen.

Not that Harry blamed him. During the summer last year, the Death Eaters had been looking for Harry and had almost found him. They had cornered Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon while they were out with Dudley and had tried to use them to get to Harry. But luckily, the Order of the Phoenix had found out and had saved Harry's relatives before they could be harmed. The Death Eaters had been caught and sent to Azkaban, but ever since then, Harry's relatives had walked fearfully about him, afraid Harry's presence would bring more dangerous people about.

Harry sat down at the table across from Dudley, who immediately started in on his bacon and eggs, wolfing them down and giving pig-like grunts of satisfaction. Harry watched him in disgust as he started putting marmalade on his toast.

Aunt Petunia was just setting the kettle down and had kissed Dudley on his fat head when Uncle Vernon scowled at Harry.

"Have you got that letter yet?" He asked, his moustache quivering.

Harry stared at him. Uncle Vernon never brought up anything to do with magic or Hogwarts. What made him decide to bring it up now?

"No," said Harry. "Though it should be arriving soon. Er…why?"
Uncle Vernon's eyes squinted at his nephew. "Why?" He growled, as

though Harry asking him why were some unspeakable crime. "Because, last year those…those MONSTERS nearly killed your Aunt Petunia and me…THAT'S WHY!"

Harry stared at him. "And?"

Uncle Vernon's eyes opened wide and his mouth opened like a fish. "AND!!" He bellowed. "We don't want that happening again! The sooner you're out of here, the sooner we can live in peace and quiet again!"

Suddenly Harry understood. They were intent on getting rid of him, though for himself, he was just as intent on leaving. They weren't concerned for his safety. They weren't concerned that it was his last year at Hogwarts and that he still hadn't decided what he wanted to do when he was done. They just wanted to get rid of him so they could go back to their boring, normal, muggle lives.

Suddenly, Harry wasn't quite so hungry. He stood up and was about to leave the table when Uncle Vernon's voice stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?" He roared.

"Back to my room!" Shouted Harry. "That way you don't have to be around me anymore!" And Harry stormed out of the kitchen and went back upstairs to his bedroom.

Once he got there, he looked around and was disheartened. It was too early to pack and he had no one to talk to. Hedwig was gone. Harry had sent her to Ron's a day ago to ask if he could come and stay the summer with him. Harry had been hurt that Ron hadn't asked him to stay but he had swallowed his pride and sent Hedwig off. He couldn't stand it if he had to stay here the whole summer.

Harry went to his desk and decided to pull out his textbooks. At least he could study for his N.E.W.T.S (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) until his letter from Hogwarts arrived, or more hopefully, Hedwig arrived with his answer from Ron.

Two hours, frustrated by studying, Harry heard a clicking at his window. He looked up and to his relief, saw it was Hedwig.

"Thanks goodness," he said, as he got up and went to the window to open it.

Hedwig fluttered into the room and landed on his desk. Harry went to her and hurriedly tore off the letter that was attached to her leg. He opened it and read Ron's reply.

Dear Harry,

How are your holidays? Probably not that good what with the Muggles, eh?

Of course you can come stay with us this summer. I'm sorry I didn't mention it after we got off the train. How about in a couple of weeks, ok? I wish it could be sooner, but Mum and Dad are in Romania visiting Charlie and I've got to ask them.

Hey, how about we spend our last days this summer at the Leaky Cauldron? I've got some money saved up and it would be fun to let off some steam before we start back to school. Let me know what you think.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Ron

Harry read the letter thankfully and then pulled his quill and a piece of parchment towards him. Two whole weeks. Well, it could be worse. He could survive that long with the Dursley's. At least he'd have something to look forward to. And he liked Ron's idea of blowing off steam at the Leaky Cauldron before they had to start the new term. Harry still had quite a bit of wizarding gold left and thought he deserved a good time at Diagon Alley before he started his last year at Hogwarts.

Harry wrote out his reply

Dear Ron,

Thank you for saying yes. I'll reserve a spot on the Knight Bus and see you in two weeks.

I like your idea of blowing off steam at the Leaky Cauldron before we start back at Hogwarts. It should be a lot of fun. Count me in!

I'll see you in two weeks.

Harry

Harry folded the paper and called Hedwig over to him.

"I know you just got in but could you please go back to Ron's place?"

Hedwig looked over at him, her amber eyes fixing him with an affectionate glance as if to say it was okay.

Harry attached his letter to her leg then ruffled her feathers. Hedwig gave him low hoot and then spread her wings and flew off through the window. Harry watched her go in relief. Two weeks. And he'd have to reserve a seat on the Knight Bus. But Harry wasn't sure how to do that. Of course, he could always wait and try to stick out his wand arm on the night he wanted to leave, but what if there wasn't a bed that was available? No, he'd try to do it properly. But how? Then he had it. There was a witch nearby who could help him. Arabella Fig. That's it. He'd go to her house and ask her.

Harry went downstairs and into the living room where Uncle Vernon was watching the news.

"Yes!" Yelled Uncle Vernon.

"Um…I just thought you should know," said Harry. "My friend Ron has asked if I could stay with him until the term starts. He said I could come in two weeks."

Uncle Vernon's eyes glared at Harry as he stood next to the door.

"They're not coming to get you are they? Not going to come barging in my house, breaking things and wearing those ridiculous clothes, are they?"

Harry shook his head. "No," he said. "I'll be going there by myself."

Uncle Vernon grunted. "And how will you be doing that?"
Harry thought it over. He wasn't sure he should explain to Uncle Vernon about the Knight Bus. The idea that a magical bus went all over England and picked up and dropped off witches and wizards might be too much. Harry decided that a little bit of the truth was the best thing.

"I'll be taking a bus," he said.

Uncle Vernon snorted. "Broom not good enough, eh? Hmmph! About time you did something that was normal for a change!"

Harry didn't respond to that. "So, can I leave then?" Harry thought it over and decided he'd add something that would help his uncle make up his mind in his favor. "You'll be getting rid of me sooner and you won't have to worry about the Death Eaters coming back."

Uncle Vernon's head snapped back to Harry where before they had been focused on the news. "Death Eaters! What Bloody Death Eaters!"

"No no," said Harry. "They're not here! Don't worry!"
Uncle Vernon suddenly stood up and went to the window. "They better not be here!"
"I just meant," said Harry, "that you'll get rid of me sooner and you won't have to worry about being attacked again."

Uncle Vernon returned to his chair. "Get rid of you sooner, eh? Well, I daresay that won't be so bad. Yes," he said. "you can go back to those…those weirdos you're so fond of."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and tried not to let his happiness show on his face.

"And mind you!" Shouted Uncle Vernon as Harry was about to turn to go. "Don't you dare come back!"

Harry felt his teeth clench.

"Don't worry," said Harry in his coldest voice. "You couldn't force me to come back."