A/N: Thanks for reviewing people! Wow! Three review! That's as good as a million to me especially when they're not flames! Hehe. Well here's the second chapter. Sorry it took so long. I got kinda busy. Plus I had a whole chapter all pretty and written out on paper and when I went to type it I realized I hated it and that it didn't jive well with the details of OOTP. Oh, and FYI, nothing really super interesting happens in this chapter. This is kind of a transition chapter. Some things in here though are still worth noting. Oh, and I do know what I'm doing with Chapter Three, and I think you'll like it. In fact I'm already starting to write it. I'm not sure yet exactly where I'm going with this story yet, but I'm taking it as it comes. My entire penname and efforts at fanfiction.com are going to be centered around this one story so please give me lots of feedback, positive AND negative. I want this story to be a good one. WARNING: this WILL end up a very long story. Hehe. But it will be worth the read. Okay I will stop rambling now and let you read the story. Also, I'll do the dumb disclaimer thing now. DISCLAIMER: I'm not JK Rowling, so I don't own any known Harry Potter series character contained in this fanfic. Any unrecognizable character or place is mine, as well as the plot, but the other stuff is JKR's (the lucky devil!:P) I'm not going to repeat the disclaimer because I have full faith in your intelligence to know that this will not change! On with the story!

Chapter Two: Back at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

Harry stepped outside, surprised by the mid-July mugginess and the warmth of the sun. He hadn't been outside all summer long, forcing him to squint at the brightness of the afternoon outdoors. Harry suddenly realized that because they were in plain sight and it was midday, they wouldn't be able to fly to the safe house. He also remembered that his broom was still in Dumbledore's office, where it had remained after Umbridge had locked it in the dungeon the previous school year. They couldn't travel by floo powder because the Dursley's fireplace was not connected to the Floo Network, and because Harry was an underage wizard they could not Apparate.

"Err, Professor, how will we get to the safe house?" Harry inquired.

"Portkey, I imagine. We'll make your trunk into one." Dumbledore replied. He turned to the trunk, pointed his wand, and muttered "Portus." They all grabbed an end.

"One.two.three." Dumbledore murmured and Harry felt the familiar hook around his navel and there was a rush of wind and color. He stumbled a bit, realizing that he, along with the Order members and Dumbledore, had arrived in the front entryway of the Safe House.

Harry followed Dumbledore into the sitting room where he and Harry wearily sat down.

"Harry, may I ask you a few questions?" Dumbledore asked quietly after Tonks, Lupin, and Moody had filed into the meeting room for an Order meeting.

"Yea, I suppose so," Harry said blandly.

"Did you tell Voldemort the contents of the prophecy?"

"No, sir. I was going to when you sent me that owl."

"All right then. That's a good thing, needless to say," said Dumbledore, looking a bit relieved. "Have yolu told any of your friends, or anyone for that matter?"

"No, sir."

"That's good. However, if you would like, you may tell Ron and Hermione. I daresay it would put them in a more careless danger if they don't know. Voldemort most likely knows of your friendships since he entered your mind and his Death Eaters fought them at the Ministry Headquarters." Dumbledore smiled at him, but his eyes still held the same sad look that remained after Sirius's death. Harry knew the expression these eyes held very much so; he saw that very look in his own eyes every time he looked in the mirror.

"Okay." Harry hesitated. "Professor, speaking of Voldemort being in my head and all, can you teach me Occlumency? I mean, I never learned because of Snape being such a git and all." Harry's eyes flashed with hatred at the thought of Potions Professor Severus Snape, with whom Harry had an extremely rotton relationship with.

"Professor Snape, Harry. And he is not a git. He has a few issues from his past that include your father that he needs to get past, but I trust him deeply and I won't tolerate name calling towards him. However, I will teach you Occlumency, as well as Ron and Hermione. They should guard their own minds as they do know rather privileged information concerning you." Dumbledore spoke sternly at first but his face softened towards the end of his response.

"Professor? Why didn't Voldemort kill me back at the Dursley's? Was the prophecy more important?"

"I cannot say for certain. However, I think you are right. The prophecy, in my belief, was more important than merely destroying you. You see, Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, as he was known when I taught him at Hogwarts, is an extremely proud person. He refuses to do things simple or ineffective. For his rise to power and for his popularity among the Death Eaters, tricking you into telling him the full contents of the prophecy would have been more of an achievement than just killing you. It also would have given him a chance to duel with you properly so he could prove once and for all that he is more powerful than you and doesn't need to have the element of surprise to make things easier for him."

Harry nodded. That made sense, as depressing as it may be. Dumbledore shifted in his seat.

"I have one last question Professor."

"All right. Go ahead."

"Who is my guardian now? I mean, there's obviously no point in me going back to the Dursley's, is there?"

"Well, if all goes well and your friends and yourself have mastered Occlumency, we can 'vacation' at the safe house, with me as your guardian."

"Absolutely not!" shrilled Mrs. Molly Weasley, who had only just walked in. "Harry will stay with us!" She rounded on Harry. "Hello Harry dear. It's lovely to see you again." She turned back to Dumbledore, her eyes flashing and her hands firmly on her hips.

"I am sorry Molly, but I cannot allow what happened to Harry's guardians, in any way, shape, or form, to happen to you and your family. The mere fact of Harry, Ron, and Ms. Granger's friendship puts the two at risk. But, provided that this house stays a safe headquarters, Harry, your family, and the Granger family are more than welcome to stay here. I am Harry's guardian now and he will reside with me should this house's location be revealed to those of the enemy, in which case both families are more than welcome to stay at my residence. After all, I do have a big house, which can become quite lonely at times." Dumbledore eloquently said, with a warm smile. Even Harry had to agree with him. After all, the Weasley were very dear to him and he did not want to be the cause of destruction in their home. This seemed to persuade Mrs. Weasley, as her eyes lost their glare and her arms fell to her sides.

"Very well," she said resignedly. She turned to Harry. "How are you dear. Oh, I can't believe what happened! Are you tired? Hungry? Have you eaten lunch? Of course not! I'll go get you some now." And with that, she rushed off into the kitchen to make him a sandwich before he could even protest that he wasn't hungry. He was suddenly reminded of something he had been aching to ask but wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Professor?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Harry?" Dumbledore responded patiently.

"If I die, is that it? I mean, would that mean the end of the fight? Would Voldemort just win?"

Dumbledore tilted his head to the side in thoughtfulness. He remained silent for what seemed like an eternity. He seemed to be debating either the answer or whether to tell Harry or not. Finally he spoke.

"I believe so, Harry. The prophecy leads us to assume that the only person or thing keeping Voldemort from obtaining full power is you. Without you, we can assume that nothing can stop him."

"So it's all my fault if he wins." Harry said gloomily.

"Not necessarily, Harry. We all have a stake in this. It is all of our responsibilities to see that you don't encounter another duel with Voldemort before you are ready."

"What do you mean by me being 'ready'?" Harry asked, feeling as if there was a heavy weight on his shoulders.

"Do you remember when I told you last month that there is a force, a type of magic, inside of you that Voldemort detests and refuses to use? And that this same magic is also stored in a room at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry headquarters?" Dumbledore refreshed his memory.

" Yes, Professor. You said that it was because of that magic that Voldemort couldn't possess me in full." Harry recalled.

"Exactly. Well it is this form of magic that you shall have to learn to use before you can face Voldemort. This form of magic is the same that Voldemort unintentionally gave to you when he attacked you as a child." Dumbledore answered him.

Harry was saved from having to talk about the depressing topic any further by Mrs. Weasley, who walked in holding a plate with several sandwiches on it. Just then Harry felt his stomach grumble, and picked up a sandwich and started eating.

"Fankz, Miffez Feazey," he said while chewing. Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"When you're done eating you may go upstairs and see your friends. I daresay they are itching to talk to you. They got quite worried when you stopped owling."

Harry tried to say something, mouth full of food and all, but Dumbledore spoke first.

"Harry did not stop owling, Molly. He never received any of our owls to him. He was shut out from our world the entire time." Dumbledore said calmly and quietly.

"Oh dear! I'm sorry, Harry. I really had no idea." Mrs. Weasley looked at Harry with a slightly paled expression.

"It's okay Mrs. Weasley. You had no way of knowing." Harry replied, almost automatically. He finished his sandwich.

"Go on upstairs, dear." Mrs. Weasley said lovingly. "The others have been waiting all summer for you to come."

Harry thanked Mrs. Weasley again, said goodbye to his Hogwarts Headmaster, and proceeded to climb the stairs. As he did so, he was aware of the low murmurs from the sitting room. He also was aware that a few moments later, Dumbledore had left the sitting room and entered the dining room, where the rest of the Order undoubtedly awaited his arrival. Harry walked down the hallway of the second floor and opened the first door on his right.

Harry peered into the room, seeing his two best friends seated on two beds, staring glumly at each other, clearly bored to death. Harry, however, couldn't be happier to see them. He understood now why he hadn't heard from them and, albeit grudgingly, accepted that it wasn't in any way their fault. The door creaked, making them look up. They both jumped up and ran to him, Hermione grabbing him in a fierce hug before realizing what she was doing, then letting him go while blushing madly. Ron grabbed him in a rough boyish hug.

"Oh, Harry! We've been worried sick! And Dumbledore hasn't told us anything because we're not in the Order. We don't even know what's been happening or why they brought you just now and why didn't you owl us ever at all this summer and were you treated too badly by the Dursleys? Did you miss us? Of course you did. We missed you terribly. It's been awfully boring here even though it's Headquarters and all, but still we wanted to know how you were doing and we just felt so terrible and we wanted to know so we got Fred and George's Extendable Ears but then Mrs. Weasley found out and got real angry at us so we had to stop and so, yea. Harry, what happened?" Hermione rambled on, finally taking a breath. Harry was afraid she'd start up again, but she just ogled at him, tears in her eyes. Ron rolled his eyes.

"How you holdin' up, mate? It's good to see you." Ron grinned. He glanced at Hermione. "Don't mind her. She's been itching to talk to you all summer. She's just acting like a nutter right now." Harry half-smiled.

"I have not been acting like a nutter!" Hermione protested, clearly annoyed by the insult.

"Yes you have, Hermione, and there's no sense denying it." Ron laughed.

"Hmph," Hermione tutted, looking away, clearly irritated.

Harry sat down.

"Do you guys want to know what happened or what?" Harry asked testily.

"Of course we do, mate!" Ron said, exactly when Hermione eagerly said "Yes!"

So Harry told them about Breakfast that morning and how Aunt Petunia had been so nice, and how she really had been killed by Voldemort who used a Polyjuice Potion. He told them about his conversation with Dumbledore, to which Hermione interrupted.

"What Prophecy? The one that was destroyed back at the Ministry? How could Dumbledore know the contents?" she asked, confused.

"Erm, well, that's the thing. That thing that broke, that orb? Well, it was just the record of the prophecy. See, it was recorded when someone said it and another heard it. Dumbledore was the one to hear it." Harry said.

"Who said it?" Ron asked curiously.

"Professor Trelawney." Harry replied.

"That old goat of a nutter came up with a prophecy?" Ron said incredulously.

"Yup. And Dumbledore brought it up in his Pensieve and when she talked she had that same deep voice that she had in the third year when she said that Voldemort would rise again."

"This is too much, mate." Ron said, obviously flabbergasted.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ron added.

"Probably so you wouldn't gape at him like you are now, right Harry? I mean, that's a lot to deal with, especially after Sirius's death." Hermione stated, looking at Ron as if he were stupidly void of understanding human emotions.

Harry didn't bother to tell her she was right. He figured she knew it anyway. But at least, he thought, I don't have to say it since she already has.

"Tell us from the beginning, from when you went to Dumbledore's office back after the Ministry thing." Hermione requested, or more like demanded.

Harry told them about the entire conversation. He even told them how violent he was in the beginning, throwing the Headmaster's belongings around his office. (Hermione chided him for this. "I can't believe you, Harry!") He explained his frustration and grief over Sirius and over his situation with the Prophecy.

"Well! Stop keeping us in suspense! What did the Prophecy say?" Hermione said impatiently.

"Okay, okay. I think I remember the exact words:

'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.Born to those who have thrice defied him, bon as the seventh month dies.and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not.and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies.'" Harry finished, lost in thought as he recited the prophecy, which he remembered to the very last detail. (A/N: This passage reciting the prophecy was directly borrowed from OOTP written by J.K. Rowling. I in no way, intend to steal or violate the copyrights placed with this work.)

Hermione and Ron were silent and staring at him.

"I don't understand it, mate. What was all that supposed to mean? That You- Know-Who's tried to kill you? Because he already has." Ron said, confused.

"Ron, I swear, you are so thick sometimes! It clearly means that Harry was the one that was born in July-the seventh month, that he is the one that the Dark Lord-Voldemort marked as his equal, meaning Harry's scar, and that Harry has some sort of power that will destroy Voldemort and if he doesn't destroy Voldemort then." Hermione lost her confidence as her voice trailed off with the realization of what the last part of the prophecy meant.

"Then he will have to destroy me." Harry finished simply, noticing Ron's winces at the mention of Voldemort's name.

"I dunno what to say, mate. I mean, this is bad. Real bad." Ron said, looking at him with an unfathomable expression.

"You don't have to say anything. But there's something else I want to tell you but you have to promise me that you won't tell Neville." Harry said. They both nodded in agreement, obviously wondering why on earth Neville would have something to do with this mess.

"It wasn't just me who was born in July to parents who had escaped Voldemort three times. There was another.Neville."

"Oh!" Hermione breathed. "Poor Neville!"

"So then the Prophecy could be about him, right? I mean, why is it about only you?" Ron inquired.

"Because, even though they were born in the same month, it was still Harry who was marked by Voldemort." Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

Hermione's know-it-all behavior was starting to unnerve Harry, who was already moody enough as it was, and was about to tell her so, when he was stopped by a sneeze coming from behind the door ccompanied by a "Shh!" and a whispered "Oops! Sorry."

Hermione and Ron looked at Harry with alarm. Harry got up, walked over to the door quietly, and wrenched the door open, revealing a frown-faced Ginny Weasley holding a pair of Extendable Ears along with a distraught Neville, who was trying to hold back a sneeze by holding his index finger under his nose. They looked at Harry in surprise as Ginny quickly tried to hide the Extendable Ears from sight behind her back.

"Er- Hello Harry." Ginny said, full of phony happiness.

"Y-yes, Harry. Er- N-Nice to s-see you," Neville stuttered, putting on a false grin. He squinched his face in the effort of trying not to sneeze but lost the battle, grabbing the handkerchief from Ginny just in time.

Harry was furious.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT! CAN'T YOU KNOCK WHEN SOMEONE'S IN A PRIVATE CONVERSATION! DIDN'T YOU KNOW THE DOOR WAS CLOSED FOR A REASON? BUT NOOOOO! YOU JUST HAD TO COME AND EAVESDROP! AFTER ALL WE WENT THROUGH LAST YEAR YOU GO AND PULL A STUNT LIKE THIS WITHOUT ASKING IF YOU COULD HEAR WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TWO." Harry yelled only to be drowned out by Ginny and Neville yelling back.

"WHY ARE YOU ANGRY AT US? WE JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON FOR A CHANGE INSTEAD OF ALWAYS BEING LEFT OUT! JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN ALL BRAVE AND SAVED ALL OF US FROM THINGS BEFORE DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET TO STEP ALL OVER US AND LEAVE US OUT OF EVERYTHING! I KNOW YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TOLD US ABOUT THE PROPHECY. JUST BECAUSE I'M YOUNGER THAN YOU DOESN'T MEAN THAT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS! BUT NOOOOO. YOU JUST HAVE TO LEAVE ME OUT BECAUSE I'M THE YOUNG ONE. I'M THE BABY. I'M THE STUPID GINNY WHO CAN'T TAKE CARE OF HERSELF OR ANYONE ELSE. WELL I'M TELLING YOU NOW..I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF AND OTHERS AND I WANT TO HELP AND I DON'T CARE IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO!" Ginny yelled, before Neville started on his own rampage, surprising everyone.

"I HAVE RISKED EVERYTHING FOR YOU HARRY! I EVEN RISKED MY LIFE TO STAY WITH YOU BACK AT THE MINISTRY! YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PARENTS AND YOU KNEW THE PROPHECY AND YOU STILL DIDN'T TELL ME WHEN IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO DIRECTLY WITH ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TRIED TO HIDE IT FROM ME WHEN IT'S PROBABLY THE REASON WHY MY PARENTS ARE AT ST. MUNGO'S RIGHT NOW WHEN THEY COULD'VE BEEN HOME TAKING CARE OF ME LIKE NORMAL PARENTS RATHER THAN MY WEIRD GRANDMOTHER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE ANGRY AT ME AND GINNY!" Neville finished, finally taking a breath. He was about to start back up again, when Harry said something softly.

"I'm sorry Neville."

Neville clearly hadn't expected this and was almost at a loss for words.

"Er, right. I guess. Just don't do it again." He said, finally smiling at Harry. Harry smiled back. Ginny however, was still glaring at Harry.

"And?" she said impatiently.

"Oh yea. Sorry Ginny. I guess I should've told you."

"That's better," Ginny grinned.

"What are you doing here anyway, Neville?" Harry said looking at him. "I've never seen you at the safe house before."

"Dumbledore wanted all the students who fought at the Ministry last month to stay at the safe house for the summer. He thought that it was too dangerous for any of us to go back home since You-Know-Who knows that we're all friends." Ginny explained.

"So wait. Does that mean that Luna's here?" Harry inquired.

"Yep. She's in the room two doors down. She didn't want to eavesdrop. Said that whenever she needed to find out what you were talking about, you would tell her and that was good enough for now." Ginny grinned, rolling her eyes.

"I see." Harry said, holding back a grin. It was just like Luna Lovegood to be a bit out of the norm, and to take the noble way out.

"So did you guys hear everything?" Hermione asked.

"Er, yea. I think so. We came right after Harry told you guys to take Occlumency." Ginny replied, blushing slightly.

" Oh. I see." Hermione said, somewhat tightly. Apparently she had a little harder of a time forgiving the duo of eavesdropping than Harry did. Ron didn't really seem to care, but then again, he usually was easygoing anyway.

By then the commotion was over and they heard a soft rap on the door. Hermione got up and answered the door, allowing Luna Lovegood to enter.

"Hello everyone." She said. Harry noticed that she had the most recent copy of the Quibbler clutched tightly in her hand. She no longer bore the cheer and perkiness that had been quite characteristic of her in the previous year.

"Why hello Luna." Hermione said pleasantly. She seemed to then notice Luna's tense and solemn nature. Harry realized that Luna also had a blue parchment letter along with the Quibbler. "Whatever is the matter?"

Luna sank down onto the bed opposite of Harry, Ron and Neville,and next to Ginny and Hermione.

"The Crumple-Horned Snorkack exists." She sobbed, handing the blue letter to Hermione to read. Hermione cleared her throat before reciting the letter.

"Dear Ms. Lovegood:
As you are the last remaining and closest relative to Mr. Henry C. Lovegood, we feel it is necessary to owl you prior to the public release of this information. We regret to inform you that while your highly esteemed father was searching for the infamous Crumple-Horned Snorkack for our most recent front page story, he was mauled by a werewolf. He has survived but is in a hospital in Sweden, the country where he was attacked. In a few days he will be transferred to St. Mungo's. He will be presentable in a bout a week's time. We beg you to wait for the doctor's approval before seeing him, as his transformation is at a rather dangerous state. We understand that this comes as quite a shock. We have no intention of replacing your father's position in the corporation and will continue to support you both in this hard time of adjustment. Please owl back with any other concerns.

Best Wishes, The Quibbler Council"

"Oh, Luna! This is terrible!" Ginny cried. "When did you get this?"

"Just a few minutes ago," she sobbed. "I feel so blessed!"

"He's alive, that's good. But what about the werewolf part? That is dreadful." Hermione said.

"Oh no! It's not terrible at all! Dad found exactly what he went there to find. He found the Crumple-Horned Snorkack and now he's become one of the most misunderstood creatures ever!" Luna sobbed. It was then that Harry realized that Luna's tears were ones of happiness not sadness.

"Wait, you're happy your dad is a werewolf?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" Luna said serenely, wiping her puffy eyes.

Ron stared at her for a moment and just shook his head. Harry almost laughed. Except he didn't feel like laughing. Luna may be happy her dad's a werewolf but Harry wasn't. He realized, even if Luna didn't, that being a werewolf was considered taboo in society. A werewolf was a dirty, unsociable creature that was considered bloodthirsty and mad. Of course Harry knew better than to believe in this general consensus, as one of his closest adult friends was a werewolf himself. Neville apparently was thinking the same thing.

"Luna? You should talk to Professor Lupin. He knows tons about werewolves. He could tell you all you needed to know." Neville spoke up.

" Why thank you Neville! I believe I will have a chat with him some time this summer." Luna said appreciatively. She smiled warmly at him. Neville blushed slightly at this and looked at his feet.

The sun had started to set when Mrs. Weasley tiptoed up the steps to their room and called them down for dinner. They tried to go down as quietly as possible for fear of rousing the portraits. However this was in vain, for as soon as the group had reached the dining room, they heard a thump, clatter and Nymphadora Tonks's "oops," followed by a woman's angry screeching voice.

" Blood traiters! Thiefs! Hags! Squibs! Get out of my father's house, you short haired loony! Halfbreeds! mudbloods! What would my ancestors say to such intrusions! Out with you all! I will not have you dirty my house you blood-bartering traitor!" The portrait of Mrs. Black (Sirius's mother) screamed out more obscenities that shall remain unmentioned. Lupin and Moody quickly walked to the portrait and forced the curtains around it, shut, quieting the woman's outbursts.

"We're still working on taking that portrait down. We should have it down within the next week or two, but it's taken a while because that blasted woman putting a permanent sticking charm on it plus some other permanent charms!" Moody muttered.

They ate dinner rather animatedly, but Harry couldn't force himself to laugh and joke like the rest of the visitors. He was staring at his goblet of pumpkin juice. The goblet was engraved with the Black family crest, as Sirius had pointed out the year before. The whole house reminded him of Sirius, which he wouldn't have minded if Sirius had been alive. Now the house ached with a certain misery that pervaded Harry. Or maybe it was the other way around. The other members at the dinner table had stopped talking and were worriedly glancing at Harry, who they noticed was staring at the crest. Harry felt their stares but didn't dare look up, lest someone see that he was weak.

After dinner they all went up to bed, Harry staying up long after Ron's light snores could be heard.