Please, enjoy this chapter. There aren't any G-boys in it but they will be in next chapter.

Chapter Ten: Welcome Home

Tired, cranky, and feeling like shit, Harry slowly made his way up the stone steps of Hogwarts. He had never been so relieved to see the school in his entire life. It had always been like coming home but the feeling were so much more intense this time. Harry had spent an entire week trapped in the Ministry before Dumbledore had finally managed to get them to send Harry back to school. Now he was back and wanted nothing more than to see his friends and rest.

One wish was going to come true pretty quick, at least. Hermione and Ron were standing at the doors, the Marauders Map clutched tightly in Hermione's hands. Harry felt the first smile he'd shown in a week tugging across his face. He stepped away from Dumbledore and hurried to his friends.

Hermione flung herself into his arms with a loud cry and Harry hugged her back fiercely. Ron thumped him on the back, calling, "Welcome back," loudly. The teens held each other for a long minute before Dumbledore stepped up to them.

"Perhaps we can continue this inside," he suggested. "Harry needs to see Madam Pomfrey."

"Are you alright?" Hermione pulled away from the hug and looked him up and down. "You do look pale and you're sweaty." She placed a hand on his head. "Harry! You have a fever!"

"Yeah, I noticed. Come on, I'll explain everything in the Hospital Wing."

The three newly reunited friends began the long walk up the castle stairs. Hermione clutched Harry's hand in hers while Ron had an arm wrapped around his shoulder. Harry didn't argue with the touching, too happy to be back to feel awkward. They didn't talk as they entered the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey descended upon them like vultures to a carcass.

She spent twenty minutes scanning, poking, fussing, and shoving potions down his throat before finally ordering Harry to rest as much as possible and disappearing into her office. When she was gone, Ron and Hermione hurried to his bedside. Dumbledore had left after being assured Harry was okay.

"So what happened, Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly. "Where have you been for the last five months?"

"Dumbledore said he had hired someone to protect you and that's where you were."

Harry nodded. "He did and I've been living with them. I'm sorry I never wrote, but I couldn't. We had to remain hidden and cut off from er… everything."

"So you don't know what's been going on in the wizarding world?"

"I know the highlights."

He then explained about his visions and gave a brief overview of what he had been doing for the last five months. When explaining about the former Gundam pilots, Harry didn't use their names but their designated numbers. He knew the guys would be upset if he told anyone their real names or anything personal about them. He told Hermione they had been soldiers in the muggle war and she understood a lot better than Ron did.

When Harry explained what the Ministry had done taking away their memories, Hermione had been furious. Even Ron was appalled by the treatment of the muggles and he had grown up knowing the importance of staying hidden. Harry had nodded sadly, picturing the blank look in Duo's eyes and the brief flash of horror on Heero's face before he managed to hide the emotion behind his mask. But not even Heero could hide the anger smoldering deep within his eyes.

"What happened after the Minister stunned you?" Hermione asked.

Harry shifted around on the hospital bed, trying to get more comfortable. "I woke up in the Ministry. They asked me a lot of questions about the Order, Voldemort, why I was in hiding instead of coming to the Ministry for protection."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Gee, I wonder."

"Yeah, that was my answer too."

"Why were they asking you so many questions, though? They can't have held you there against your will legally."

Harry sighed. "Actually, they can." He explained about being a ward of the Ministry and what it now meant. Hermione was staring at him in horror and Ron was cursing loudly.

"My family!" Ron exclaimed. "You're already a part of it; we'll just write to my parents and get them to make it official."

Harry felt rush of joy at Ron's selfless offer. He would be honored to be part of the Weasley clan but knew it wasn't possible.

Shaking his head, Harry answered, "Dumbledore tried it already. He even tried to adopt me himself."

"Dumbledore did?" Hermione asked in shock.

"They turned him down because of something in his past, I don't know what, no one would tell me. But if they won't let Dumbledore adopt me, they're not going to let anyone else do it either."

"I suppose not. We have to do something though."

"Why did they keep you at the Ministry for so long, Harry?" Hermione questioned.

Harry's eyes dimmed and his face fell. His friends exchanged worried looks. "They found out about my connection to Voldemort."

Hermione and Ron's faces fell too but they were not surprised. Harry noticed and looked at them. "You knew?"

"Everyone in the Order did," Hermione explained. "But we didn't know where you were, Harry! There was no way for us to warn you."

Harry dismissed her worry calmly. "I know. I understand." This wasn't like fifth year when they had been ordered to not tell him anything; this time, they really wouldn't have been able to find him. "How'd they find out? I thought only certain people knew about my visions, even in the Order."

The two exchanged sad looks again before Hermione spoke. "It was… it was Tonks, Harry."

Green eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"It was an accident! She really honestly didn't mean to say anything!"

"Yeah mate, she was just depressed and didn't know anyone was listening. Let alone that cow Rita Skeeter."

"Oh Merlin, please don't tell me Rita Skeeter knows about my connection to Voldemort!" Harry didn't think he would be able to handle the entire wizarding world finding out one of his most guarded secrets. The way people would treat him, would fear him… it would be worse than anything he had ever had to put up with before.

"Calm down, Harry," Hermione soothed. "Let us explain from the beginning."

"Good idea."

"At first, the Ministry wanted to use you as sort of a… figure head," Hermione explained, "to lift the moral of the wizarding world. They wanted you to support the Ministry and help them look good."

Harry scowled. "Not a chance."

Ron and Hermione grinned at him. "Well they never got the chance because you disappeared. And when it was announced what happened to the Dursleys…"

Harry shook his head, waving Hermione on. He had come to terms with that and didn't want to bring up the bad memories.

"Well everyone feared the worst. Dumbledore made an announcement that you were safe and hidden but a lot of pressure was put on the Ministry to find you and bring you back."

"Yeah, because the wizarding world is helpless without the Chosen One," Ron muttered bitterly. Harry had heard that title when he was at the Ministry and felt the same bitterness as Ron.

"Anyways, Fudge promised to find you but then the attack happened."

"I know about it," Harry interrupted. Hermione looked at him questioningly. Harry simply tapped his scar and she nodded.

"Well there was a young Auror named Amy Shacklebolt, Kingsley's cousin."

Harry nodded sadly. "She died fighting."

Hermione and Ron looked at him in surprise but didn't question him as Hermione continued the story.

"Well, her and Tonks were really good friends. They went through Auror training together and were partners during a lot of assignments. That night Tonks was supposed to be with Amy finishing up paperwork, but had gone home early to meet someone. Amy had said she didn't mind which was why Tonks left."

Harry stared at his lap sadly. Tonks would have died if she stayed that night. Even though it might be a little mean to those who had died, Harry was glad the woman had gone home before everyone else.

"At the funeral she was an absolute wreck. She blamed herself for not being there for her friend. She was in the back with Remus and well… you have to understand Harry, she was upset! She didn't mean anything she said and she regrets it horribly now."

"What did she say?"

"Well, she blamed you, Harry."

Harry looked at Hermione in shock.

"But she didn't mean it! She had thought that if you were here you could have had a vision and stopped the attack. Which is completely unfair and not true! You had nothing to do with this!"

"Go on, Hermione."

Hermione bit her lip and did as told. "Well she was ranting to Remus at the back of the procession. Rita Skeeter was there in her Animagi form and heard everything."

"Did she write an article?" Harry asked unable to keep the fear from his voice.

Hermione shook her head. "No she tried but the Ministry stopped her. They've been monitoring stories released in the Daily Prophet and read hers before it was released. They paid Rita off and made her head of the Prophet to keep her quiet."

Harry sighed. "At least the world wasn't told."

"We're so sorry, Harry. I'll start researching ways to get you out of this custody predicament as soon as possible, I promise."

"Thanks Hermione. At least now I know how they found out."

"Do you have any idea what they're planning on doing with you?" Ron asked.

Harry snorted bitterly. "Yeah, I got a pretty good idea."

"Harry?"

"They spent this entire week running tests and simulations and a whole lot of other stuff I didn't understand." Harry sighed. "The Unspeakables have made some sort of new potion that will force my connection with Voldemort to become active."

Hermione gasped and Ron looked at him in horror.

"They'll be coming next Sunday to try it out."

"They can't!" Hermione exclaimed. "Harry!"

"There's nothing I can do. They have legal control of me."

"Then you'll run away! You might not be able to go back to those people who helped you but at least you could get away!" Ron said his voice determined. "We'll help you!"

Harry however, just shook his head. He lifted his wrist and showed them a small tattoo in the shape of an asterisk. Ron gasped and grabbed Harry's wrist harshly while Hermione looked confused for once.

"Is that an asterisk?" she asked. "Like on a computer?"

"What are you talking about? It's a tracking star!"

Hermione lifted an eyebrow. "A what?"

Harry smiled slightly, not able to resist teasing the two. "Wow, Ron knows something Hermione doesn't. We should mark this day on the calendar."

"Shut up, Harry."

Hermione ignored him. "So what's a tracking star?"

"It's something that was used a long time ago on pureblood children," Ron explained. "Parents would cast it on their kids so that they knew where they were every moment of everyday. You could even modify it to alert you when your kid goes somewhere they're not supposed to."

"How do we get it off?" Hermione asked.

"That's just it, you can't. It's why this spell went out of style back in the eighteen hundreds. Once the spell's cast on you, you can't ever remove it. Not even if the original caster dies. You can transfer it to a different person but it will always be there."

"That has to be an invasion of privacy! Don't worry, Harry. I'm going to research this too and figure something out, I swear."

Harry smiled. "Thanks for caring, Hermione."

"Well of course. What else would you expect? Honestly."

Harry and Ron laughed at her. Harry suddenly felt tired and yawned widely. The yawn was contagious as his friends copied it.

"We should let you rest." Hermione stood. "I have a lot of research to do."

"When are you coming back to classes?"

"Not until Tuesday. I have to get my schedule then talk to all my teachers about making up all the work I've missed."

"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione smiled. "I'll help out with any school work."

Harry smiled at her. "Hermione… you're a good sister."

"A what?"

"A good sister. If there's one thing I'm going to learn from all this, it's the importance of family. I don't have one of my own, so I have to make one."

Hermione's eyes welled with tears and she flung her arms around Harry's neck. Harry looked at Ron desperately but his friend shook his head. Harry had gotten himself into that mess, he would have to get himself out.

"It's okay, 'Mione." Harry patted her head awkwardly.

"I know." Hermione pulled away. "I have to, I have to go research. You get some sleep, Harry." She kissed him briefly on the cheek and dashed from the Hospital Wing.

"Nice going, Harry. Now she's going to be all emotional."

Harry laughed, falling back onto his bed. "I'm glad to be back."

"We're glad you're back too."

"Ugh…" Harry groaned.

"Gotta face it sooner or later," Ron encouraged. "Don't worry, we already filled the other Gryffindors in on you being back and they promised to help with blocking all the questions. The D.A. too."

"Thanks." Harry smiled gratefully. "Might as well get this over with." Ron pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and led the way inside. Chatter dimmed down as everyone saw Harry. Eyes followed him to the Gryffindor table but the whispers didn't start until he had sat down.

"Welcome back, Harry," Neville greeted. The sentiment was repeated by all his fellow Gryffindors and Harry nodded at them all.

"It's good to be back."

"So where were you?" Seamus called from a few seats to Harry's left.

Harry didn't get a chance to answer as the post owls began swooping in, distracting everyone for the moment. Harry looked up and felt his heart soar with joy when Hedwig came flying straight to him. She landed on his shoulder and hooted loudly, pushing against Harry and nipping at his ear. Harry laughed and moved her to his arm so he could pet her easier.

"Hey girl, I have missed you." Hedwig hooted in agreement as Harry grabbed some bacon from his plate to feed her. "I got a new pet while you were gone."

The owl hooted and looked at him in a way that could only be described as offended. Harry laughed. "Don't worry, he's not a post owl. He's a tiger cub. But…" Harry sighed sadly and Hedwig jumped closer to his face, rubbing her feathers against his skin soothingly.

Harry petted her. "He got left behind at the place where I was hiding," Harry whispered. "The guys won't remember me so they probably won't remember Snowball either. I hope they don't shoot him by accident. Tro—03 will take care of him or at least find him a good home. He really likes animals."

Hedwig hooted and Harry smiled, pulling his owl close to him. "Wanna stay with me today? I'm just going to get assignments."

Hedwig hooted again and jumped onto Harry's shoulder, letting him know exactly what her decision was. Harry laughed and turned back to his food. He noticed a lot of the people with the paper and most of where glancing at him as they read. With a resigned sigh, Harry turned to Ron who also had a copy in his hands.

"What's it say?"

Ron showed him the headline and Harry rolled his eyes.

The Chosen Savior has Returned!

By Rita Skeeter

Harry tossed the article away. "I don't even want to read it."

"I don't blame you." Ginny spoke up from a few seats down. "Did you ever thank the Ministry for finding you and bringing you back?"

Harry blinked. "I thanked them for stunning me and dragging my unconscious self back unwillingly. Sarcastically, of course."

"Hmph." Ginny rolled her eyes. "That cow-Skeeter strikes again."

"Just get rid of it."

"My pleasure." Ginny nudged her friend and the two stood up. They calmly waved their wands together intoning, "Incendio."

Every paper in the hall burst into flames, regardless of whether someone was holding or reading it. Shocks echoed from everywhere as people got their fingers singed. They all turned, glaring hatefully at Ginny and her friend but the red head just shrugged.

"Sorry, I hate lying. It's a Gryffindor thing." The Gryffindors laughed, cheering for the two girls. Professor McGonagall descended upon them and began scolding and lecturing.

"So tell me about the D.A.," Harry requested of Ron.

The redhead looked proud. "Me and Hermione have kept it going. It's gotten bigger too, now that Umbridge is gone. Hermione's doing a great job with picking out spells to learn but she's not a leader like you. It's hard to control people sometimes."

"I'm sure you're both doing great."

"You're coming back, right?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I don't see why not."

"Wicked. We've got a meeting Wednesday." Harry nodded as McGonagall finished yelling at the girls before making her way over to him.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter," she greeted with a stern frown. Harry beamed at her.

"Thanks Professor."

"Here is your schedule." She handed him the paper. "I want you to talk to all your teachers today and find a way to catch up. Tomorrow I expect you back in classes."

"Yes ma'am." Harry took the parchment and looked it over. Ron glanced over his shoulder and nodded in approval.

"Same as me."

"Cool."

Harry already knew most of his teacher's from previous years and so they were understanding and helpful in coming up with ways for Harry to catch up on the missed work. The only one who was a real pain was, unsurprisingly, Snape, who had been made the new DADA teacher. The only thing that kept Harry from hexing the man and walking out was the fact that Hermione was waiting beyond the door to the classroom and would force Harry right back inside if he left.

Harry had mostly been assigned reading; lots and Lots of reading. He figured he may as well read every text book he had, it would be easier than all the extra work he was given. The teachers had given him until after Christmas break to be at his classmates' level again. The only assigned work Harry had to make up were the major papers that were a large part of his final grade otherwise they weren't enforcing all the missed homework.

Tuesday classes went well for Harry, if not a little overwhelming. Snape refused to let Harry participate because he was sure that after "running away" for so long, his skills were even worse than before, if that was possible. Once his back was turned, Harry lifted his hand and turned Snape's clothes bright pink.

The entire class erupted with laughter and Snape whipped around, glaring at Harry. Harry forced a shocked look on his face and made sure to keep both hands where Snape could see them. Snape couldn't punish him because Harry had no wand drawn and, as he had just pointed out, Harry had no talent in wandless or non-verbal spells. In other words, he couldn't blame Potter for the prank.

The Gryffindors lost almost fifty points that class but everyone believed it was worth it to see Snape temporarily dressed in pink.

Come Wednesday, Ron and Hermione led Harry to the Room of Requirement after classes ended to meet with the D.A. Ron had been right, the group had expanded. What had once been only twenty-nine students had now expanded to at least fifty. Everyone was sitting in the room provided, waiting for the leaders to arrive.

When Harry entered the room, a swell of cheering broke out from the students. It was loudest from those who had been taught by Harry back in fifth year. Harry blushed, raising a hand in greeting.

Hermione blew a whistle the room provided and everyone fell silent. Harry's friends nudged him forward and he realized he was expected to speak.

"Er…" he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hey guys. We seem to, uh, have gotten bigger."

"And legal!" Ernie Macmillan called. The group laughed.

"Yeah, so I've heard. Hermione's filled me in on most of the stuff and I have to admit, I was really impressed with everything you guys have been doing."

"Yeah, but now that you're back, we can get back on track," Cho Chang called. Harry was surprised to see that she had returned; they had parted on somewhat bad terms.

"Back on track?"

"Well we've mostly been learning helpful spells and the like but now that you're going to be taking over again, we can start learning battle spells, like before."

Harry frowned as he thought about it. With the war getting as violent as it was, that didn't seem like such a bad idea. Hermione had them learning mostly shields and counter curses. While those were important to know, defending yourself only got you so far. They would need to know how to attack as well.

He nodded. "Alright. Hermione, Ron, and I will sit down and figure something out. We'll let you know next meeting."

There was a murmur of approval from many students. The chatter was interrupted by a fifth year Ravenclaw, whose name Harry didn't know.

"So where have you been since the beginning of the year?" he called over the voices. Everyone instantly stopped talking and looked to Harry expectantly.

Harry had expected this question. "I was in hiding."

"Why?" another student asked.

"Idiot," Ron snapped. "Why the hell do you think?"

"He's faced You-know-who before and never ran away! Maybe our Chosen One is losing his courage."

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Erin Hayes. Ravenclaw."

Harry nodded. "Well Erin, before I answer you, I want to make one thing clear. And this goes for everyone, so listen up."

The students leaned forward eagerly for what he had to say.

"Don't ever call me the Chosen One again," Harry ordered firmly. The class looked confused. "The Chosen One is a title the Ministry and people I don't know stuck me with. Just like the boy-who-lived." He glared at them all. "I'm not a savior. I'm a sixteen year old kid, just like the rest of you. The only different thing about me is that Voldemort," everyone flinched, Harry ignored it, "has a personal vendetta against me. That's the only reason I get tangled up in so many messes."

"So why does you-know-who hate you so much?"

Harry shrugged. "That's not your business. My point is, don't call me a savior, Chosen One, or anything else along those lines. You do, you will leave. If everyone keeps doing it, I'll leave."

The students looked cowed and nodded their heads meekly. Harry smiled, trying to lighten the suddenly somber mood.

"Why don't we get started?" he suggested. "I'm eager to watch what you guys have learned."

Later that night, Harry was sitting up, looking out the window of the common room. He had an open text book on his lap but hadn't read a single word for almost an hour. He couldn't get himself to focus on the reading and had given up.

He couldn't stop worrying about his friends. Were they okay? Did the Ministry only erase their memories or had they followed through with their threat to charge them with kidnapping? Did the memory modifying go smoothly? Or did something happen to damage their minds and leave them scared?

Had they really forgotten him?

Of course they had. Heero would have come looking for his charge if he remembered. The others too, wouldn't have let things go like this. They really had been forced to forget all about Harry. His heart clenched at the very thought and tears stung his eyes. Five boys who had become like family had been ripped away without a second thought.

Wufei was gone.

For the last week, Harry had remembered their brief kiss. It had been so wonderful. His lips tingled, his face was hot, Wufei's chest felt so nice under his hands. Harry had never felt so… right when kissing someone. In that brief moment their lips had touched he had forgotten all his troubles and just let himself enjoy it. It had been so long since Harry had felt that free.

But that didn't matter. Wufei didn't remember him anymore. They could pass each other on the street and he wouldn't bat an eye while Harry would be screaming inside. Any chance they had at being together was gone now. Maybe it was for the best. Wufei and the others were strong; they had lived through their war and didn't deserve to be pulled into another one. Harry wasn't nearly as good as them; he knew he wasn't going to live through his.

Lately, that thought didn't bother him as much as it used to.

"Harry?"

Harry turned to Hermione as she stepped down the stairs. She was dressed in her nightclothes, ready to go to bed.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was just reading before going to bed."

"Are you actually going to sleep tonight?" she asked. He looked at her questioningly. "I've seen you in the mornings, you're not sleeping well at all."

Harry turned away. "It's Wufei's fault, he spoiled me."

"What?"

"Nothing," Harry said louder. "I'm just having trouble with nightmares. No big deal."

"Maybe Madam Pomfrey will give you some dreamless sleep potion?"

Harry didn't want any potion. "I'll ask her later," he lied. "You should go to bed."

"You should too."

"I will in a few minutes."

"Okay, goodnight Harry."

"'Night Hermione."

She headed back upstairs and Harry went back to staring out the window. He never quite made it to bed that night.

A/N: This chapter was mainly getting Harry back to school and back into the swing of things. And telling how bad the Ministry is. They will be bad guys in this fic. This was also the second reason Dumbledore sent Harry away. He can't protect him from the Ministry. As seen in book five, Dumbledore may have some sway but the Ministry is still able to interfere with the going-ons of the school. And now that they claimed legal control of Harry, Dumbledore can't use the excuse of being his headmaster to stop them. You'll see the full extent of what this means next chapter.

Man guys, I need some inspiration. Seriously, I want to write but I've got nothing. Blah. Help me out with kind reviews.