A/N: I'd like to thank vjpdevesa for reviewing and giving me the suggestion of Harry's visiting Godric hollow, which I've decided to use. I'm sorry it took me so long to update but I've been pretty busy lately, but I will try to update more often. I'll write a lot faster if more people review. I appreciate all of you who have already taken the time to review, and encourage the rest of you to review, tell me your thoughts, ideas, or just if you like how it's going. Now on to the story…
The next morning harry woke up early about 6 a.m. and gathered all his stuff into his new trunk. He had loaded everything except Hedwig and his old trunk. Harry got out the keys to the trunk from his pocket and found the one to the eighth lock. He put the key in and turned it, when he opened it expecting just a plain room much like Moody's, Harry was surprised to find it was a large bedroom. Harry descended down the magical stairs in the trunk and placed his old trunk at the foot of the bed. The room was well lit and had everything you would normally find in a bedroom. 'No wonder this trunk cost so much. I wonder what's in the other two rooms' Harry thought as he ascended the stairs back out of the trunk.
Harry closed the trunk turned the ninth key in its lock and opened the trunk. In this room Harry found shelves along every wall and a few in the center of the room along with a long table on the right side. 'This must be a library, too bad there's no books in here. If they had though, I bet the trunk would've cost a lot more.' Harry thought as he looked around the library. 'Hermione would love this' he thought as he laughed to himself. As Harry left the room up the stairs, he realized exactly how he would find books to fill the library. In fact, it would be all too easy.
Harry closed the trunk and placed the tenth and last key in the keyhole, turned it, and opened the trunk. Harry wasn't sure what to expect but he hadn't expected nothing, the room was completely empty. "I guess this room you can make what you want," Harry said. 'I could make it a training room, no one would think to look in my trunk for me. Also only I'm suppose to be able to see the keyholes, but I bet Dumbledore can. O well, still this would make a good training room' Harry thought. The whole time Harry had been thinking he hadn't paid much attention to the room he was in or else he would have found that the room had started changing and soon was much like the Room of Requirement during DA meetings. When Harry realized the room had changed he jumped and spun around, checking the room to make sure he was still in his trunk.
"This is amazing, it read my thoughts. I wonder if this is like the room of requirements. But I only thought it once, maybe this is a little different." Harry thought out loud. He then thought of a few other rooms and when the room didn't change, Harry concluded that the room only did it once. 'This trunk was well worth the money' Harry thought to himself as he got out of it and closed it. He then threw on Sergus' robe and picked it up and went downstairs as 'David' to checkout.
"I'll be leaving now Tom. Thanks for your hospitality" 'David' said as he paid Tom the last of the rent.
"Your welcome David. Come again!" Tom called after him as 'David' left the Leaky Cauldron.
'Now what do I do? I can't go back in for a while and I still have no excuse for my 'disappearance.' I need to go somewhere and think' Harry thought and with that he apparated, now that he was 17 and could do so, to Godric Hollow, the Potter's graveyard, his parents' graves. Harry walked up in front of and between the graves set down his trunk and sat down it facing his parents' tombstones.
"Hi Mom, Hi Dad. I'd ask how you are, but nothings changed and you're still dead" Harry spoke to his parents' tombstones. "I'm doing good, seeing how Voldemort is still out there, and my friends are ok too. Dumbledore and the Order are still trying to defeat Voldemort. Don't worry we'll get him for what he did to you," he paused for a moment, "I miss you both very much" Harry said as a tear started to roll down his left cheek.
'Get a hold of yourself Harry! There'll be time to cry after the prophecy's fulfilled.' He thought. "Anyway, back to the present" he said wiping the tear away "A couple days ago I ran away from 'home', I couldn't stand Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon anymore. But I got a little careless about it, I didn't ask Dumbledore or even leave a note when I left. Now it turns out the whole wizarding world knows I left, actually they think I'm missing. That's not the problem right now really, the problem is what do I tell them when I go back. I can't tell them the truth or I'll be revealing my secret metamorphagus and animagus training, not to mention my ability to do wandless magic."
Harry sat there for a half-hour thinking over possible excuses and scenarios, when finally he came up with one. It was actually simple yet brilliant, and was even somewhat true. He would just tell people he couldn't stand the Dursleys anymore so he left and came here for a couple days to think. Once Harry thought it over to make sure his excuse would work, he changed back to himself, picked up his trunk, and apparated back outside the Leaky Cauldron. Harry then walked in, ignoring a few muggles who were surprised at his appearing out of thin air. Harry walked up to the bar to talk to Tom, when nearly everyone had gone quiet and was now staring at him.
"HARRY! Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you, thought You-Know-Who had gotten you" Tom exclaimed.
"No he didn't, I just went somewhere to think for a couple of days" Harry said and before Tom could say anymore Harry continued "Could I have a room for the last few days before school?"
"Sure, number 7 just freed up this morning, been pretty busy with Hogwarts beginning soon" Tom said as Harry handed him the money.
Before anyone else could bother him Harry nearly ran upstairs with his trunk to room number 7. Once in, he shut the door, set down his trunk at the foot of the bed, and fell back onto his bed. "It's going good so far. Perhaps I should wait a couple hours, let people talk and everything, then when it has died down some I'll go down. Maybe I'll take a nap," Harry thought to himself out loud. Harry had just gotten comfortable and was almost asleep when there came a knock on the door and a voice soon followed.
"Harry! Are you in there?" he could hear Hermione yell through the door. Harry got off his bed and headed over to open the door. The moment he had opened it, he had nearly been knocked down as Hermione grabbed him in a tight hug. "Where have you been? I've been so worried about you, we all have" she quickly corrected herself "The paper had said you just disappeared, people were saying Voldemort had gotten you."
"Hermione… air… it's becoming an issue," Harry choked as Hermione realized how tight she had been hugging him.
"Oh, sorry about that" she apologized blushing a little. Her face then quickly became stern "Now where have you been?" Hermione demanded to know.
"Well…" Harry began as he closed the door "After my birthday the Dursleys had become unbearable, my aunt and uncle didn't like any of you staying there. It's ok though, don't feel bad. My best birthday was well worth their torment afterwards." Harry then walked over to sit on the bed before continuing "Anyway, after a while I just couldn't take anymore, so I left."
"But where did you go?" Hermione asked sitting down next to him.
"I went to Godric Hollow, to visit my parents graves. I also did a lot of thinking… about the prophecy. I think I've decided this is the year." Harry said his face now so serious that Snape would have even told him to lighten up, under different less dangerous circumstances. Harry had told Ron and Hermione about the prophecy soon after Dumbledore had told him, so now only the four of them knew. Hermione, knowing what Harry meant, then began to cry.
"Hermione don't cry. You know the prophecy, you know it's gonna happen. The sooner it does though, the fewer people Voldemort can kill. If I put a stop to him, it'll all be over, and people can go back to living their lives." Harry said putting an arm around Hermione trying to calm her down.
"But Harry, what if you die? How do you know you'll be ready? I don't want to lose you Harry" Hermione sobbed into his shoulder.
"Hermione I have to do this, there's no other way. Don't worry, I've been training ever since the summer after Sirius' death, I'm more powerful then ever" Harry assured her. "Trust me, I'll be ready and I'll win. This won't be the first time I fought him, but it will be the last." Harry said with a very serious and confident tone in his voice. "I'm going to have to fight him, you know that."
Hermione knew he was telling the truth and accepted it, but was still going to do something about it. "You're right," she said, wiping away the tears and quickly gathering herself, "But I want you to be ready. So I'm going to help you prepare for it, as well as the NEWTS. I'll find time around my Head Girl duties."
"You're Head Girl! that's Great! Should've known it be you." Harry said enthusiastically.
"Yeah. I wonder who's Head Boy, my letter didn't say who." Hermione said with curiosity clearly on her face.
"He's right in front of you." Harry said, striking a pose before laughing at himself.
"YOU! That's Great Harry!" Hermione said before grabbing Harry in another tight hug. "I'm so proud of you."
"'Mione!…air" Harry wheezed as Hermione let go of him. He started to laugh once he caught his breath "You're stronger than you look," Harry then continued to laugh.
"Sorry about that" Hermione apologized, a tinge of red coming to her cheeks.
"It's ok, just not so tight next time" Harry replied. Harry looked at his watch and saw it was about lunchtime "Why don't we go get some lunch?"
"That'd be great. I'm starving, I was about to eat when Tom told me you were here" Hermione answered.
"Good then let's go" Harry said as he headed out the door, Hermione right behind him.
They had lunch and talked about what they did that summer since Harry's Birthday. Hermione apologized for the way the Dursleys had treated Harry, feeling it was her fault. Harry assured her, that his relatives would've found another reason. As they were finishing their lunch Hermione spoke up.
"So do you want to do your school shopping?" she asked.
Bloody hell Harry didn't think of that, what was he going to say now? He already had all his stuff but no excuse as to when he purchased it.
"Not right now Hermione, there's a lot of people out there, I bet. I'd rather avoid the crowds." He said, then thought "Whew that was close, but it should buy me some time.' "Is Ron around?" Harry asked already knowing the answer.
"Yeah! I completely forgot, he's staying here too, in room 9. He's Probably still sleeping, the lazy git" she said then laughed.
"Why don't we go wake him then?" Harry said getting up from the table and heading upstairs before Hermione could even say, "ok, let's go." So she followed Harry up to the remaining member of the trio.
When Hermione got upstairs she found Harry waiting outside Ron's door and she could hear his loud snoring. She was about to ask Harry what he was waiting for when he held his finger up to his lips and motioned with his hand for her to come over. She did so with a confused look on her face as to what Harry was up to.
Harry then whispered with a sly grin, "Hermione, do you think you could impersonate Molly and tell Ron to get out bed this instant?"
Hermione was about to scold him for even asking her to help him pull a prank when he stuck out his lower lip and pouted. She couldn't say no to him when made that face so she nodded yes, then cleared her throat and got ready.
"RONALD WEASLEY, GET YOUR SORRY ARSE OUT OF BED THIS INSTANT!" she yelled quite convincingly, and at the same time very terrifying. It was a very good impression of Mrs. Weasley in a bad mood.
Almost the instant she yelled they heard their friend, jump out bed and fall to the floor. Then they heard him get up and open a dresser to grab clothes and get dressed. Not two seconds later he was at the door and opened it to find Harry and Hermione on the floor rolling with laughter.
"Where's mum?" Ron said looking up and down the hall not realizing it had been a practical joke.
"She's…not…here" Harry wheezed between laughs as he got up. He then regained his composure and said, "You know you can move pretty fast with the right motivation" before continuing to laugh as he entered the room, Hermione closely following also laughing.
"That was low. Can't a guy get to sleep in on his summer vacation?" Ron said shaking his head before deciding to let it go and laugh with them.
"Yes he can, but not when his snoring shakes the building," Harry said, clearly joking so as not to upset Ron. Ron had improved his anger management but sometimes it was unpredictable.
"Ha, ha, ha, not funny. I'm not even fully awake yet and you're picking on me. Anyway, Where have you been mate? The ministry's been looking all over for you."
"I had to get away for a few days and think, that's all" Harry stated just as he had rehearsed his excuse.
"But where?" Ron said.
"Godric Hollow, to visit my parents graves" Harry explained.
Ron's face dropped for a second. "Well that explains why Dumbledore wasn't too worried, somehow he must've know."
"But I heard Dumbledore was looking for Harry" Hermione spoke up.
"Well he wasn't. He said that he believed Harry was just fine, but he wouldn't tell my dad why he thought that." Ron explained.
After that last statement, Harry sat in silence and thought about what Ron had said. 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since when has Dumbledore not know something?' was his first thought. After that he began to think about possible ways Dumbledore had known. Not that he wanted to hide from Dumbledore; he just wanted to know if anyone else could have known, more importantly death eaters. Hermione and Ron had started talking about the coming school year; mostly Hermione was lecturing Ron about studying since they would have their N.E.W.T.S. Harry joined in the conversation mostly to play referee. The trio continued to talk late into the night before Harry and Hermione left to their rooms to go to sleep for the night, as did Ron.