DISCLAIMER: If I was JK, I would totally write a 'Harry naked' scene for my own viewing pleasure...ehem, moving on, I do not own it.

Year Six

This year will be a little hard for me to explain, my friend, just to give you a little warning. Yes, it is the most recent in my life but there were so many things happening at once that I often found myself lost in the giant colour scheme.

I will try, though, to explain most of the events in detail from how I experienced them. Not all of them appear clear to me even know when I think back to them.

I see I am jumping the gun a bit so to speak. What? Oh, that's a muggle expression. A silly one, actually now that I stop to think about it…

Anyways, back to the story.

I arrived home from my fifth year of Hogwarts to utter chaos. The house was literally in an uproar. Apparently my great aunt on my father's side and my cousin- twice removed- had decided to descend upon the house unexpectedly.

Translation: the house was in dire need of cleaning and the refrigerator had yet to be stocked.

My mum looked at me with a begging sort of expression and I knew immediately what she wanted me to do. I sighed and gathered my coat and change purse to run to the store a little way away to stock up on groceries.

The mist, I noticed on my walk, was settling around the ground rather early and this for some reason unsettled me. I knew in the very core of my being that this phenomenon was related to magic in some way.

I found out later that I was right on that guess.

Anyway, I was rather twitchy during my walk, always keeping my hand near my wand which I had stashed in my pocket at the last minute. I felt a lot safer with it there then I would without it. True, I wasn't supposed to use magic but I wasn't going to let myself be taken or killed either.

As I approached the small store, I noticed the nearly vacated lot and panic started to set in. I had waited till very late to come and darkness was now descending upon me.

I quickly scurried on in the store and breathed a sigh of relief. I know, I was being rather silly but during times like these, one can never be too cautious.

Mr. Brockenbutter who owned and manned the store himself smiled at me kindly as I took another shaky step forward. The last customer shoved past me leaving only me and the old store owner. Forgive me if I didn't feel safe at all.

I hastily picked up one of the small carts and made my way down the aisle, picking up random packages that I knew my mum could turn into a gourmet meal. I knew I was probably forgetting something as I made my way up to the checkout- actually, I knew I was forgetting something- but I wanted to get home before it got too dark.

But I'm afraid fate doesn't always want to work out for me.

I turned my head as something caught my gaze and instantly froze. Why me, is the question I continue to ask myself even to this day.

It appeared that Lord Voldemort had a penchant for attacking muggle businesses and that night he had chosen to attack Mr. Brockenbutter's small store. I would by lying if I said I wasn't terrified. True, Voldemort himself wasn't there, but that didn't stop me from being scared of the twenty something Death Eaters that were now bearing down on us.

"Run," I advised the storekeeper in a deadly whisper. "Run as fast and as far as you can."

The old bugger didn't even stick around to see if I was following. I turned after a slight hesitation, though, and followed his path out of the back of the store. I heard their steady footsteps following my path.

I ran into a dark alleyway. I know, I know, not my best choice but I really only had one plan at the moment- get the hell out of there.

It's true what they say, you know, which I guess you would. When you are faced with possible death, events long forgotten come to the forefront of your mind. But oddly enough, it wasn't events that I had experienced that came to my mind.

I saw flashes of strange people, young people who appeared to be my friends. Young people who I didn't know and yet they seemed so familiar. I saw black swirling in front of me as well as different colours of spells flashing from every direction.

Arms descended around me, catching me in a painful grasp.

"Didn't think you'd get too far, did you girly?" a man whispered wickedly in my ear.

I twisted in his arms as I tried to break free. My mind was screaming at me to fight, to live. For what I didn't know. But those flashes remained at the forefront of my mind and it was for the knowledge of what lay behind them that I fought.

"LET HER GO!"

I opened my eyes to the new voice and quietly rejoiced in the sight that I met. Thirty Aurors were bearing down on the Death Eaters surrounding me.

Thank Merlin for small miracles.

I saw James and Sirius among them, their wands pointed directly at the Death Eater holding me. It was Sirius who had yelled the order and it was he who was now advancing, backed by the others.

The Death Eater who grip I was in was preoccupied by judging his chances at continuing to hold me captive while facing the Aurors and so I took the opportunity to strike out at him.

He wasn't expecting the kick in the shins, nor the elbow in the gut come to think of it. I was able to break free from him and run straight into the arms of James who shielded me from harm.

"I see she hasn't trained fully yet," one of the robed figures said as he stepped out in front of the Death Eaters. He stood calmly, his wand held down at his side as if he could careless about standing in front of the Aurors.

"Go back to your master," Sirius warned, his wand now directed at the figure standing before the rest.

"Have you told her yet, Black?" the figure continued and I could see the mocking smile showing beneath the mask. He cocked his head slightly as if in thought. "No, I guess you wouldn't tell her, would you?"

Sirius' knuckles began to go white as he gripped his wand. "Leave now or die."

With mocking laughter, they disappeared one by one, leaving me shaking in James' arms and wondering what the Death Eater could have meant. Sirius turned and lowered his wand, his grey eyes connecting with mine.

"You will return to the Burrow for the duration of the summer holidays," he spoke briskly. "I will go to your home to inform your parents and collect your stuff."

"Please," I said as I stepped forward, "let me to go with you. I want to say goodbye to my parents." Then I remembered my task. "Oh no, I forgot the groceries."

That started James chuckling. When Sirius threw him a look, he held up his hands. "What? It's funny. The girl just got attacked and she's worrying about groceries."

Slowly, the other Aurors started laughing as well while I merely stood there with an exasperated look on my face and Sirius glared at his best friend.

"James, take her back to her home while I go and talk to Dumbledore," Sirius finally stated firmly, holding no room for argument.

"But you just said…"

"James, just go."

I went with James and after some tears, we were soon on our way to the Burrow where I would be staying for the rest of the summer. Declan came by most days to visit with me, mainly when I wrote to him begging for a new book to read.

Sometimes we travelled to Order Headquarters for a time while the adults held a meeting. I hung back with Fred and George- though I really don't know what possessed me to do so- and learnt a bit about their business which was apparently booming.

I got to see the store when we travelled to Diagon Alley to shop for our school supplies. It was amazing- though I refused to admit it out loud.

Mrs. Weasley rushed us through our shopping. I dimly missed Harry's presence. Mrs. Weasley informed us that they were planning on shopping another day along with the Lupins.

I didn't see Harry the whole time during my stay at the Burrow, not even when we went to the Headquarters. Both of the elder Potters were there along with Rachel so I could only wonder where Harry was at.

We returned to Hogwarts soon and I was relieved to see Harry standing with his parents in the crowd. I know it sounds silly, but I was beginning to imagine all these horrible scenarios in which he was severely injured and in the hospital.

Stupid, but I never claimed to have common sense.

While on the train, Harry told us of the private sessions he had had during the summer with Dumbledore. Apparently, the Headmaster was tutoring him in certain areas but felt that this needed to be done in secret.

He also told us of the time he met our new professor at the time that the letters arrived from said person. Professor Horace Slughorn was to be a professor at Hogwarts this year in what we assumed was the Defence Against the Dark Arts position.

Professor Slughorn invited a select few of us- Harry, Ginny, Rachel, and myself- down to his private compartment for a chat and some food. Ron and Declan, I noticed, appeared a bit put out about not receiving an invitation.

Something about the man irked me at first glance. I can't really say what it was but I felt deep down as if I was supposed to dislike him. I didn't really understand it; I didn't know him at all after all.

He glanced at me once, twice, and then a third time, his mouth slightly open as if in shock. I gave an indignant huff and turned to leave when Harry caught my arm.

"Don't leave me," he whispered pleadingly.

I nodded mutely and turned back towards the group, a small smile on my lips as I joined the small crowd who, I noticed, were the elite of Hogwarts. There were the brains- myself included-and the celebrity students- whether they were celebrities themselves like Harry or related to someone famous.

Ginny received her invitation because Slughorn just happened to be passing by when she preformed a rather skilled hex.

I somehow managed to avoid one-on-one contact with Slughorn during the trip, I still don't know how since he even managed to corner Rachel who was a slippery one when she wanted to be.

Harry and I slipped out when no one was looking, quickly running back to our compartment where we preceded to slouch low in our seats. It wasn't that Slughorn wasn't a nice man- he was too nice actually- it was just that we sensed that he wanted something out of us.

What? Oh, really? He was a professor at Hogwarts before, a good time ago. Someone said he retired shortly after they graduated. I think it was Lauri that was telling me that.

You remember him well then? I know that as the year progressed he was exactly as I feared. And he had that dreadful portrait of himself that he kept posted for us to gain entrance to that one room for the 'secret' meetings.

Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing but he visited you? That's classic. Visiting the famous everywhere now, isn't he?

Anyway, during the whole ride, I could tell that something was bothering Harry. He would occasionally drift off in his own thoughts and would then jump when one of us poked him. Then, what seemed to be more bizarre behaviour, he kept glancing out of the compartment door when someone would near as if expecting someone.

I said nothing of this though.

Harry disappeared before the train arrived at the station. We looked around uneasily but still got off the train and selected one of the carriages. We were packed but we managed to get all five of us in without Harry- which would have really squeezed us in.

Harry wasn't even in the Great hall when the first years stepped through the doors. We discovered later that he had been spying on Draco Malfoy- who he suspected of being a Death Eater- when Malfoy had discovered and attacked him. Tonks had been the one to find him.

Imagine our intense surprise when we discovered that Slughorn was going to be the Potions professor. It appeared as if Snape had finally received his deepest wish by gaining the DADA position- a class we all now dreaded.

Since Slughorn was now the Potions instructor, Harry was able to add Potions to his list of classes. Though he didn't have a book, Slughorn soon remedied that.

That was how we came to know the Half-Blood Prince.

The book which Harry now had in his possession was marked as the property of the Half-Blood Prince. It had some rather helpful hints in the margins that enabled Harry to brew a potion sometimes better than mine.

Yes, I resented that.

I was cautious of this figure, after all, this wasn't the first time we were in the possession of a book that talked or rather told us stuff. Tom Riddle's diary had not been a good thing and I was certain this book wasn't either.

But Harry was determined to keep it since it helped him get a far better grade in Potions.

Throughout the year, Harry maintained his belief that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater and sometimes I couldn't help but believe him. However, he was obsessed with this idea and I was afraid that one day he might do something rash.

Ron made the Quidditch team after being challenged for the Keeper position. Harry fed him some luck potion, or made him believe he did when he really didn't. I was proud of Harry for that little bout of trickery; it made Ron believe in himself.

Ron hooked up with Lavender at some point, I'm not sure. One part of me told me that I should be angry, but the other part really didn't care. I wanted to like him, I knew it was expected of me to like him, but every time I closed my eyes it wasn't his eyes that I saw.

Slughorn's Christmas party came up and really I couldn't have cared less. But it was expected of us all to attend, plus Harry wouldn't let me get out of going.

I didn't even bother with a date. My plan was to go in, make an appearance, and get out of there as fast as I could. However, as I discovered a long time ago, fate likes to play little games with me.

Slughorn cornered me.

The man is nearly impossible to get away from once he captures you. He's like a spider. He waits until you get near and then he pounces, trapping you in his web where you can't escape.

I thank Merlin for the fact that some famous man drifted by nearly half an hour later, capturing Slughorn's attention. I took the opportunity and promptly slipped away.

After that, I can't really say anything of great importance happened. Harry trained with Dumbledore on some secret mission. He also ended up somewhat dating Ginny. They were together but not 'together' if you know what I mean. It was an odd arrangement.

Ron and Lavender were hot and heavy for each other. Basically everyone was avoiding any room they were occupying for fear of seeing something they really didn't want to see. I was one of the unfortunate souls that happened to walk in on them one day.

What? You too? I know it's not funny, well, actually it's hilarious. I feel your pain.

Anyway, it was nearing March when I happened to overhear a very interesting conversation between the Headmaster and Snape. I didn't mean to, of course, I just happened to be in the wrong place and I couldn't move without alerting them to my presence.

"I don't care how much you pressure me Albus, I'm not doing it!"

"Severus, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you that if it comes down to it, you have to."

"I assure you, I don't."

"You know the consequences if you don't." There was a sigh then, a pronounced one as if the maker was settled on his fate. "I wouldn't ask this of you Severus if I knew any other way. Indeed, you must remain alive…"

"I came to you a long time ago Albus and gave you my reasons. I thought you accepted them. I murdered one person, not directly but I might as well have. Don't ask me to do this."

There was a pause and I strained to hear the next words, softly spoken though they were firm. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to do this in the end."

Their voices drifted off as they walked away and I was left to wonder what they were talking about. What was Dumbledore asking Snape to do that could invoke that kind of reaction from the formable Potions Master?

I agree, it was very strange but it was a mystery and I love a good mystery. And so I set out to discover the meaning behind their words.

I found out too late.

It was at the end of the year that all hell broke loose….literally. Harry had left with Dumbledore on one of their secret missions. There was tension in the air, something was about to happen.

Death Eaters invaded the school.

I was terrified. Hogwarts was supposed to be impenetrable and yet the Death Eaters were inside of the castle. The Dark Mark loomed over the Astronomy Tower.

I couldn't tell you all that happened for I was not a witnessed to it. I know from Harry though that he and Dumbledore returned to the castle immediately and went to investigate the Dark Mark. They were tricked, though, and Dumbledore froze Harry.

Draco was assigned to kill Dumbledore but it was Snape who completed the task in the end. Only when Dumbledore fell to the ground dead did the curse lift off Harry and he was able to move once again.

Dumbledore was dead and Harry sought revenge.

Harry retold the story to us once, his words filled with venom as he spoke of our ex-professor. I had trouble wrapping my mind around it, even more trouble believing it.

Why?

It just didn't make any sense. Why didn't Snape kill Harry while he had the chance instead of merely warning him and taunting him? Was there some extra purpose behind it all?

Each of us was lost in our own problems as parents flocked the school. Bill Weasley had been attacked by Fenir Greyback, though Remus assured the Weasleys that he would only have wolfish tendencies since Greyback hadn't been in wolf form. His fiancée (and you might have trouble believing this), Fleur Delacour, stood by him the whole time. I guess I had to admire her for that, right?

I spotted James and Lily hovering about once or twice. They always seemed to have Harry standing beside of them as if protecting him in a way. Rachel wasn't too far off, though.

Once Lily looked up and her gaze clashed with mine. I saw worry there. I didn't know what to make of it or why she would be worried about me, but I knew that there was something going on that I didn't know about.

The funeral of Albus Dumbledore took place soon after. I sat beside of Ron and Harry, Declan taking the seat on my other side. We watched quietly as Hagrid carried the immobile form of the late Headmaster up the aisle and to the casket.

I didn't cry. I wanted to, but I didn't. I don't think Dumbledore wanted my tears.

When it was all over, the three of us rose simultaneously, drawing some attention to us. We all turned and walked away from the scene, away from the funeral.

Harry had earlier called it quits with Ginny. He was trying to be noble, but I knew that he was hurting inside. He was in love with her even if he didn't want to admit it.

We stood by the lake for a long time before Scrimgeour, the new minister, joined us. Once again he was after Harry to be the poster child for the Ministry.

Harry refused.

We left the Minister standing there with a frown upon his face and just walked around for a bit. "What next?" I finally found the courage to ask.

"I go after the Horcruxes," Harry answered automatically.

Ron and I shared a look before smiling at him. "You mean 'we'," we both corrected him, causing a slight tilt of the lips on Harry's part.

"We," he agreed.

Next Chapter: You find out who she's talking to and your guys' answers are funny but I love them all

Much Love,

MiZZ AmAyA