A/N: Please, I know I re-posted this chapter, but I put up the 'un-modified' version, sorry! Please re-read!

Chapter 10-No More Parents for the Summer

(Harry's POV)

The following morning I woke up with one thought on my head. Somebody's got to keep an eye on Draco, and I don't think Neville can handle it. I've got to take the Captaincy position.

It was Saturday morning and I was walking down the stairs for breakfast, still in my pajamas when I heard Hermione arguing to her parents.

"Mum, how can they call you off on such short notice? First you get sent to work on vacation, and now they want you to go on a business trip too! I'm not going to see you guys over the break because I'll need to study, which means we probably won't see each other until next summer break!" Hermione pleads

"I'm sorry Hermione, but we have to go. This convention in France has been planned for a long time, and they'll be teaching us new techniques we need to know to keep up with technology these days." Her father replies

"If they've planned it for so long how come we're only now just finding out about it?" Hermione complains

"I don't know sweetie, but we need to go tonight." Mrs. Granger replies.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Hermione shouts stomping out of the kitchen to where I'm standing.

She turns red when she realizes what I just heard, "My parents are going away for two weeks, and by that time we'll be leaving for Hogwarts." She explains…not that I didn't already know that.

"Does that mean I'll have to leave?" I ask suddenly afraid they would throw me out.

"No," Mrs. Granger says with a smile on her face, "You may stay here until it's time for you to go. However, I think your Professor Dumbledore was going to whisk you off in a week anyway for that Headquarter place."

"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix mum." Hermione corrects.

"Really? Did he say when he was coming?" I ask eagerly and Hermione looks at me puzzled.

"Not necessarily when, but I assume he will come." Replies Mrs. Granger equally confounded

"I just need to tell him something urgently." I say evasively.

"Well, we could send him an Owl." Hermione suggests.

"I'd rather not. I think I should tell him in person."

"Well, unless it's very important we can figure it out later Harry, because my parents have to fly to France tonight. We have a lot to do." Hermione answers

"I think breakfast is the first order of the day however, and I'm sure everyone will agree." Mr. Granger suggests while motioning to breakfast which was on the verge of burning.

"Oh my! I forgot all about it!" Hermione's mother exclaims rushing to its rescue.

It wasn't that badly burned, and in no time the four of us we sitting down to a very hearty breakfast.

The hours seemed to tick by rather slowly today however, mainly because Hermione insisted on helping her parents pack-and I was to lazy to do anything without her. I also didn't feel it was my place to help them pack so I sat around and watched boring TV shows the entire day.

Around six in the evening they left, and Hermione's mother practically had to be dragged out by her dad with all the last minute warnings she tried to give us.

"Remember honey, at least one of our cell phones will always be on. I want you two to call when you leave for that Phoenix place, and to call when you arrive, and don't forget to call when you leave for Hogwarts too."

"Mum, cell phones won't work in any magical location. How many years do I have to tell you this?" Hermione replies with pretend annoyance, but I can see she's going to miss them.

"Oh right, well…" she hugs Hermione, and to my surprise, me as well.

"HELEN!" Mr. Granger shouts from the car, "WE'RE GOING TO MISS THE PLANE!"

"Coming Harold!" she shouts back

"Do be good children, and don't do anything stupid. Obey Dumbledore and any other Order member-"

Mr. Granger decides he's had enough, "Helen," he says grabbing her arm, "We're leaving now!" They walk off, and I see a worried Mrs. Granger wave tearfully over her shoulder.

Hermione shuts the door slowly.

"Are all mothers like that? I mean your mother and Mrs. Weasley are nearly the same." I comment with slight amusement.

"She's always like this when I leave for school, or anywhere else, and especially if she leaves me alone. I think its part of the motherly instinct." Hermione says, and then she looks at the couch with a horrified expression on her face, "Did you watch TV and eat popcorn all day!"

I look at the nearly finished bowl of popcorn and the remote still sitting on the couch.

"Yeah, there was nothing else to do." I respond with embarrassment.

"NOTHING! What about schoolwork?" she scolds.

"Right now, I'm hungry for dinner can we leave the lecture for later?" I joke as I put the remote away and grab the bowl to dump the remnants in the trash.

"Fine." She sighs

Then there is a crack of thunder, and Dumbledore appears again.

"Well, at least you two aren't in a compromising position like when I arrived last time." He jokes, and I feel my face turning crimson, and I'll wager Hermione's was as well.

"Where are your parents?" he asks looking at Hermione.

"You just missed them, they left minutes ago." She responds grabbing the popcorn bowl from behind my back and shoving it on the kitchen counter out of his sight.

"Oh well, it is probably better, the fewer people who know the better." Dumbledore replies.

"Whatever do you mean Professor?" she asks

"I mean I need two answers from Mr. Potter here involving certain positions he was offered." Dumbledore says turning towards me with his intense blue eyes.

"Harry!" she questions looking between the two of us completely befuddled.

"He means the fact that I was offered the position of Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and a new position-Captain of Prefects." I answer her looking away; slightly embarrassed that Dumbledore hadn't seen fit to ask me in private.

"Why for Merlin's sake didn't you take them?" she queries puzzled.

"Wasn't sure I wanted all that responsibility." I respond simply

"Harry if you can manage to save the world repeatedly, I think you can be Captain of the Quidditch team and of Gryffindor's Prefects."

"If you would let me answer Professor Dumbledore Hermione, I would have told him that yes; I do accept both positions." I finish.

"Very Good, I shall tell Professor McGonagall immediately; however I have two things left to say. First of which being, I believe you have yet to open Sirius's will Harry. Whether or not you want to do it, it must be done; there are matters that need tending. Second, I will return in one week to escort you both down to Grimmauld place for the remainder of the summer." Dumbledore replies looking at the both of us intently as he finishes.

"Will Ron and the rest of the Weasleys be there?" I ask eager to see my friend.

"No, unfortunately there have been some complications in their return trip from Tibet. Because, you see, they cannot all apparate since Ginny and Ron are still too young to do so. The floos out there are very untrustworthy, and portkeys are difficult to come by when the Ministry gets in one of its moods. They will be back before Quidditch starts, do not worry Harry. I do have some good news though, the twins will be returning to Hogwarts. This is no doubt bad news for Filch, but very good for the team. They worked out a compromise with their mother, if they finished up seventh year at Hogwarts; she would let them run their joke shop without complaint. So they will have Bill take over for a few months until they can return. I am babbling however, and must be on my way unless you have any questions."

"I have one question." Hermione states.

Leave it to Hermione to come up with a question

"We met up with Lucius and Draco Malfoy at Diagon Alley yesterday. A fight ensued during which Draco was wounded under suspicious circumstances, and his father refused to help him. I had to heal him before he went into shock, Mr. Malfoy seems to hate his son, and Draco seems friendlier towards us. Do you know why?"

Dumbledore's eyebrows shoot up, "Well, I did not know of this incident. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I have one question though, Miss Granger, how did you heal him? You aren't a healer." He replies as he goes into deep thought.

"I was studying healing spells this summer, I thought it might come in handy considering who we are."

"Only the most powerful witches and wizards can achieve those spells, not to mention you must have enough selfless love to make it work properly."

"YOU LOVE MALFOY!" I bellow, the unexpectedness of it, not to mention another stronger feeling of jealousy erupting inside me.

Hermione looks at me, horrified, "I certainly do NOT love Malfoy. What Professor Dumbledore means is that I have to love someone-anyone enough, and be loved in return to be able to properly heal a wound like that. To be truthful, I wasn't even sure it would work, it the first time I tried it. I simply was desperate to distract you and Mr. Malfoy enough to save you Harry. It was the first thing that came to mind."

"I-Sorry Hermione, I was just over-reacting." I apologize. Dumbledore winks at me knowingly. I was slightly confused at this, but then Hermione spoke again,

"But why? Why are they fighting? Why is Lucius out of Azkaban?"

Dumbledore looks up from his intense thought, "Again, this is something that I cannot tell you now, but in time you will see. As for Lucius, the Ministry investigated what happened that night and decided that Harry was acting in an irrational manner by following his nightmares. Thus, they concluded that through fabricated pieces of evidence that Lucius was wrongly charged by Harry. They then came to the decision that Lucius was trying to defend the prophecy from Harry because he was too young to have it. It was simply an 'unfortunate circumstance for both parties'" Dumbledore finishes, his eyes squinting to paper-thin cracks in his face and his brows were furrowed with anger.

He sighs, "It does not matter how many times we try to tell them what is going on, they will not believe it. I really must be going now. Goodnight!" he winks at us and apparates out again with his usual crack of thunder.

"I really need to learn how to apparate." I say dryly looking at the spot where he had just been standing.

"Well, that's what books are for Harry." Hermione chides, laying a hand on my shoulder, "Come on, let's go have some of the dinner my mum left for us and then we'll open the will."

I froze at her mention of the will. I am NOT opening that thing! However, anyone knows that once Hermione sets her mind to something-nothing short of a miracle will dissuade her.

"Come on Harry." She says tugging gently on my shoulder to break my gaze from the flagpole outside.

Dinner finished all too early, and soon I found myself holding that dreaded envelope in my hands while Hermione tried to persuade me to open it.

"You can do it Harry, it's just a piece of parchment." She says softly.

Opening it means I'm admitting he's dead, and not coming back.

"He's not dead Hermione; therefore there is no need to open the will." I say with fake cheerfulness casually dropping it on the table and walking to the kitchen trying to find something else to eat.

Being Hermione, she steps in front of me again, "Harry, I'm not having this anymore. I don't care what you want to believe. He's dead Harry, and he's not coming back. I know it sounds cruel and callous, but you can't 'Dwell on dreams and forget to live.' You're living in a world that no longer exists Harry, and the longer you live there the harder it will be to leave and face the real world." She finishes blocking the door with her arms on either side. She looked determined yet sympathetic at the same time. "You can do it Harry, I know you can."

I allow her to lead me back to the table and place the will in my hand. However, I stare blankly at it. Wondering if I can imagine it away.

Minutes pass, and I can see her getting impatient.

"Harry, you need to let go, it's what Sirius would have wanted."

DON'T OPEN IT! OPEN IT! DON'T IT'S BETRAYAL! You're proving that you cannot accept the truth. Thoughts like this ran through my head, and my hands start to tremble violently, a visible sign of my inner struggle.

"H-Hermione, can't we wait until tomorrow?" I plead with her.

"Harry, you and I know very well that you'd never open this if I let you get away with it. But I can't let that happen. You need to open it tonight Harry."

"One night can't hurt that much though, can it?"

"I'm speaking from experience Harry, just open it. It'll be even harder tomorrow."

There was no way out, short of throwing it in the fire, which would cause even more problems. Ever so slowly I began to break the seal and open the envelope. I felt like I was trespassing or desecrating something precious by doing this, not to mention the intense felling of betrayal that burned inside me.

Eventually, I succeeded in opening the offending document and withdrawing it from the envelope.

I did not dare look at Hermione right now, for some reason which I couldn't place. Instead I began to skim the document.

Despite all the fancy and official writing, the only words the will had to say was that when the last heir of the Black house died (Sirius) the entire estate-money and house with everything inside it-was bequeathed to me. The lawyer's signature was that of Dumbledore's, which didn't really surprise me.

The two witnesses were Professors Lupin and Moody. The last signature was the sloppy, scratched one of Sirius Black, my late godfather.

I managed to read the entire document without tears or any other emotional display, but I was still torn up inside. He really is dead, and he's never coming back. I sink slowly onto the couch, and Hermione puts her arm around me in a comforting manner.

"Remember what Lupin said? There's something else besides just a will in there Harry." She whispers in my ear.

Reaching inside the envelope once more reveals a short note addressed to me.

"Harry,

If you're reading this, it means I must be dead. I'm sorry I didn't get to see you finish growing up, but you do need to remember Harry there are more important things than mourning. Think of things this way instead, I'm with your parents right now, watching you reading this and hoping you'll get my message. We still love you despite the fact we're not here anymore, and you don't love us any less by moving on with your life. There are thousands of wonderful (and yes, dreadful) things you still have to do-don't let your grief control your life. Talk to your friends, let them in and you will grow stronger because of this experience, and wherever your parents and I are right now we'll look at you and smile.

Love Your Godfather,

Sirius Black"

"He wants me to move on." I mumble as I shove the note in my pocket.

"Everyone has to move on Harry, its hard yes, but it is possible and I'll do whatever I can to help you get there." She responds gazing at me with a troubled look.

"Thanks Mione, but right now I think I need to be alone right now." I respond standing up, and she lets go of me, however, with reluctance.

I toss the will on the table and look at her quickly before I turn to walk outside.

She is on the verge of tears herself, and I find myself wanting to cry as well. I throw open the door and walk outside quickly before she can see how she is affecting me.

Once out of sight I run as fast as my feet can carry me, not caring where I end up. I vaguely remember passing through some tall grass and moving quickly over treacherous rocks until finally I stumble on something I failed to see and fall.

There is a huge gaping tear in my pant leg from the sharp rock I must have tripped over, and my leg has a matching gash as well, not that I care. I'm too numb to feel much of anything right now.

I sit down of a nearby rock and look for the first time out over the vast view of the ocean I have from here.

This place really is beautiful.

From where I am sitting I can see the other peninsula covered in trees jutting out into the water, the large bay separating me from it. To my left the mouth of the bay opens itself to the ocean. Also to my left much further down is the white house that Hermione is crying in right now.

Suddenly I feel terrible for running off on her like that. It's not like she didn't love Sirius too, and she's trying to comfort you ignoring her own grief, and you shove her away!

I shake my head and cover my face, but it does not stop the tears from falling, and soon my hands are covered those infuriating salty droplets.

You are such a coward, less than a year away from adulthood and you're still weeping like a little boy! I feel like such an idiot and a bloody coward that I cannot make myself go back to the house, let alone stop this massive storm of weeping that has overtaken me.

Utter despair engulfs me, just like the old days when I would cry myself to sleep at night in the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys. This time however, the despair is different and darker and feels more real.

Even as a boy I always dreamt of a time when I would discover I had a long-lost uncle or grandfather that would come find me at the Dursleys and take me away from them. Then I would live a perfect life, have all the friends and ice cream I could want and never have to go to school again.

Now though, there is no glimmer of hope at the end of the tracks, there is no ridiculous dream to believe in anymore. There is simply me and a few friends banding together in a desperate struggle to outwit the strongest wizard in the world who has decided he simply has to kill me. Me, the un-liked, abnormal weird Harry Potter who by the way has no parents or guardians anymore.

Eventually, the thoughts stop flowing and I find myself simply staring out at the bay as if I am waiting for a sign.

Suddenly I feel something wet on my forehead, and I reach up to touch it and discover it has started raining. I don't really care though, and hug my knees under my chin as the downpour washes all the salty tears off of my face.

Then I hear a clap of thunder, and look around for someone who has apparated out here, only to discover it is a real thunderstorm. However, this does not dissuade me and I sit there during the storm, not caring if I am hit because it is my way of defying the world.

It seems like hours upon hours have passed, and suddenly I hear a twig snap and whirl around just as someone loses their footing and falls in my direction, there is a shriek and I recognize the voice despite the blackness that engulfs us, "HERMIONE!" I shout and I jump up to go catch her.

She was falling from a slippery cliff about fifteen feet up. She would break her neck if I didn't do something quickly.

The rocks were so slippery that I stumbled in my mad dash over to her, and what seemed like forever must have been only a few seconds, but I did manage to catch her. Due to the slippery rocks and the darkness, not to mention her weight (not that she's fat-she's actually pretty light but she was falling fast), I slipped just as I caught her and we both hit the ground with a sickening thud.

DAMN! I can't do anything right anymore!

Hermione was lying on her face, not a good sign and even in the occasional flashes of light I feel and see a sticky red liquid seeping all over her rain-drenched shirt. Oh God! Please don't let her be dead! I can't handle that!

My vision was blurred do to another flood of tears pouring from my eyes, and rain splattering on my glasses. I gingerly picked her off the rocks, "Hermione, can you hear me?" I shout above a thunder crack.

Her eyes were closed, and she did not respond, but I could see her chest rise and fall with an uneasy rhythm. She's alive! Relief washes over me and I find my head swimming again just like in the Department of Mysteries. I bow my head in silence for a little, trying to steady my brain. Thank you God! Then I feel Hermione shudder. I realize I've done nothing about her cut, there is no Neville here to think for me-panic strikes, and I grope for my wand only to find I seem to have lost it in my dash to catch her.

A lucky flash of lightening allows me to spot it three feet away, I grasp it firmly, and do the first thing I can think of.

"Rosso Volo!" I shout and red sparks fly out of the tip of my wand, which I then drop as I dash back over to Hermione.

I carefully pick her off the ground and cradle her in my arms, "Hermione, please don't die-this just isn't right-I can't believe I'm so stupid please don't die Ican'tlivewithoutyouIamsuchagitpleasepleasepleasedon'tdie! HERMIONE!" I wail above the loud winds as she lays limply in my arms.