::A/N:: Okay, so here's the first chapter of my first multi-chapter fic! Should take me a little while to complete since school is still going on, but once summer is here I can probably update a couple of times a week. Enjoy!

The lights on Privet Drive had all been extinguished. The occupants of the street were all sound asleep in their homes, dreaming of new cars, vacations, and lots of other crazy things Muggles deem important. However, one person on this street remained awake. One person with jet-black hair, startling green eyes, and a thin lightning-bolt scar.

Harry Potter lay sprawled on his back in his bed, staring at the ceiling and unwilling to fall asleep. He was afraid that if he allowed himself to engage in slumber, he would once again have terrific nightmares….nightmares about the Department of Mysteries, about Sirius' death, about how he had led his best friends into immense danger.

His train of thought led him to dwell upon his friends and wonder what they were doing. It had only been three weeks since term had ended, but he already missed them terribly. Ron and Hermione had written of course, but Harry really wanted to see them. He needed to see them. As Harry continued to stare at his ceiling and wonder about his friends, he heard a screech from outside. He immediately jumped out of bed, sensing the worst…but it was just an owl outside his window. Harry noticed the letter clamped in its beak and beckoned the owl inside; he recognized it as Ron's owl Pigwidgeon.

Harry untied the letter and began to read Ron's untidy scrawl:

Harry,

I figured you'd be up again and I couldn't sleep either so I thought I'd just write this now. I talked to my mum and dad tonight, and they told me we're going to visit my grandparents at their beach house in Southern France. Anyways, I asked if you and Hermione could come. My parents said yes but they wanted to ask Dumbledore first. He's only just written back and given his permission, only he reckons some more members of the Order should come too, so Tonks and Lupin will probably come with us. So how about it, mate? Send your answer back with Pig. I'll probably still be awake.

Ron

Harry immediately grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and wrote back to Ron, telling him that he would of course like to go and asking when they would leave. When he was tying the letter to Pigwidgeon's leg, he paused for a moment, realizing he hadn't even though about whether or not the Dursleys would let him go. However, Harry had had little communication with them this summer anyway and figured they wouldn't care. The Dursleys had barely spoken to Harry since they'd picked him up from Platform Nine and three quarters; Harry suspected this was because they were utterly fearful about what Mad-Eye Moody would say if they berated Harry all summer long like they usually did.

Pigwidgeon began to fidget while Harry tied the letter to his leg. Harry stroked the bird's feathers to calm him down, carried him over to the window, and watched him fly out into the cool, breezy night. Harry really wished he could go with Pig and hoped Ron would pick him up pretty soon, because he had been growing very restless at Privet Drive lately. He wished he could be with the Order of the Phoenix; the thought of Order members was very comforting to him at the moment. However, Harry also half-wished he would not have to see the Order this summer, because headquarters was still at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Harry's stomach tightened every time he thought about returning to Grimmauld Place and residing there with the obvious absence of Sirius and the memories of their time together last year…

Slowly, gradually, Harry's eyelids began to droop, and he succumbed to the overwhelming pressure of sleep and his usual tormenting nightmares.

Breakfast next morning followed the usual pattern. The Dursleys did not speak to Harry, Harry did not speak to the Dursleys, and Dudley nicked bacon from everyone's plates. After Harry cleared his plate, he returned to his bedroom, hoping to find Pigwidgeon sitting on his dresser with Ron's reply tied to his leg. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the tiny gray owl so Harry had to figure out a way to entertain himself until Pig came back. Not feeling up to homework, Harry decided to start packing since he assumed he'd be leaving for France within a few days. Just as he was finishing up, the small, feathery form of Pigwidgeon zoomed in his window and dropped a small piece of parchment on the floor. Harry grabbed the note anxiously and read Ron's reply: Excellent! I'll be seeing you soon, then.

Harry stared at the note for a moment and then flipped it over, but there was nothing on the backside except an orange stain which Harry suspected was pumpkin juice. Wasn't Ron going to tell him when they were leaving? Harry assumed he had just forgotten to mention that, so he grabbed his quill, scribbled a short sentence on the back of the note, and gave it to Pigwidgeon to take to Ron.

Harry was in a very cheerful mood now, so he quickly finished packing, put on his trainers, and went outside. He decided to walk down to the playground to swing for a little while. The weather was beautiful; the sky was clear-blue and the sun shone brightly down upon him, warming the back of his neck. Harry began to walk towards Magnolia Crescent, watching the young kids playing on their front lawns, the energetic dogs running about, and a funny group of foreign tourists who appeared to be lost. Harry paused and stared at the tourists. There was something familiar about the way two of them were walking…Harry's heart leapt when he saw that four of the tourists had flaming red hair.

"Ron! Hey, Ron!" Harry yelled, and the whole group of people turned to look at him.

"Harry!" several of them yelled, and as they ran over to see him Harry realized that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Hermione, and Ginny were also with Ron. He was amazed to see them standing there in Privet Drive, after a month of separation. Hermione and Ginny both squealed and overwhelmed him with tight hugs, and Harry was soon pulled into a tight embrace by Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh Harry, how are you?"

"We've been so worried about you!"

"Have the Dursleys been treating you alright?"

Harry was still in a state of shock to see them all standing right in front of him. "What are you doing here?" he asked Ron.

"Well, we came to get you, of course!" Ron said, grinning broadly.

"But…when…how did you get here?"

"Took the Knight Bus. Lupin and Tonks came over this morning, then we all picked up Hermione, now we're here to get you. So, are you ready?"

"Well, yeah…I wasn't expecting to leave this soon, but I'm all packed…I just need to get my stuff. Are we taking the Knight Bus to France?"

"Oh no, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "The Knight Bus doesn't travel that far. The ministry set up a portkey for Arthur."

"The Ministry?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, they've become much more helpful since they realized we're not a bunch of liars and we've been telling the truth about You-Know-Who all along," Mr. Weasley told him. "So, Harry, will you lead us to your house? We were just trying to find it."

"Oh, yeah, it's just over here," Harry said, pointing at number four and beginning to lead the group. Lupin performed a mobilization charm on all the luggage and everyone followed Harry to the door of the Dursley's house. Harry paused when he reached for the handle; he knew Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would blow a gasket when they saw his visitors.

"Why don't you four go collect Harry's things, and we'll have a chat with Harry's aunt and uncle," said Tonks, winking. Harry nodded and opened the door. Uncle Vernon was sitting in his armchair reading the paper. At the sight of Harry's fan club, he turned beet red and his veins began to throb.

"Petunia!" he yelled hoarsely, positively shaking with anger.

"We'll be upstairs, then," Harry said quickly, and he raced up the staircase, closely followed by Ginny, Hermione, and Ron.

"Your uncle's in a good mood today," Hermione said sarcastically, as the sound of Uncle Vernon's yells drifted upstairs. Harry laughed and began to throw his remaining belongings in his trunk. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny helped him collect everything around the room.

"So how's your summer been, Harry?" Ginny asked tentatively. Ron turned around, holding Pigwidgeon's cage, and Hermione dropped a pair of Harry's socks in his trunk and stared at him.

"It's been…alright," Harry said, trying to sound nonchalant. He didn't want to be the subject of pity when this day was supposed to be fun for him. "Kind of boring, but you know, should be fun now." The other three nodded and didn't press him anymore. After a few more minutes, the four of them had managed to gather up everything and they proceeded back downstairs, where they saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, and Tonks talking to the three Dursleys, who were all sitting quietly on the sofa. Dudley looked horrified, Uncle Vernon seemed furious, and Aunt Petunia kept her narrow eyes focused on Tonks' outrageous pink hair.

"All finished, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked cheerfully. Harry nodded. "Alright then, let's go everyone. It's been nice seeing you again," he said to Uncle Vernon, holding out his hand. Uncle Vernon merely glared at him. "Right, well, I assure you Harry will be fine with us. You'll see him again next summer." Uncle Vernon looked like he would rather hear Mr. Weasley talk about the Easter Bunny than Harry's safety. He grunted and glared at Harry. "Okay, everyone have their luggage?" Mr. Weasley asked. "Right, now where's that portkey?" He searched the pockets of his jacket (everyone had come dressed as muggles) and held out a broken bottle. "Fingers out, everyone! On the count of three…"

The Dursleys looked like they had never heard a more absurd set of directions in their life, but Harry only glimpsed their faces before Mr. Weasley had counted to three and Harry felt the familiar hook behind his naval. He closed his eyes tightly as the portkey transported them to France; he could feel his shoulders banging into Ron's and Hermione's. After a few seconds he felt his feet hit solid ground and opened his eyes.

"Wow," Hermione said softly. They were standing outside a beautiful beach house, right near the ocean, separated only by a vast plain of sand. Harry heard a yell and looked up at the balcony of the beach house, where an old woman was standing and waving down at them. She ran inside the house and appeared moments later next to them, along with an old man, and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny. Harry hung back with Hermione, Lupin, and Tonks, waiting to be introduced to Ron's grandparents.

After everyone had been introduced, they all went inside for some lunch. The house was beautiful; it incorporated both the laidback feeling of the beach and some magical elements as well. Harry sat down at the kitchen table with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and couldn't stop grinning. It was all starting to hit him: he was away from Privet Drive, he was with his best friends, and he was at the beach for the very first time in his life! It was very hard for anything to dampen his mood, even the looming terror of Lord Voldemort and the empty hole in his heart that belonged to Sirius.

"Well Harry, what do you think? Better than Privet Drive?" Ron asked. Harry pretended to look like he was thinking, and then looked at Ron very seriously.

"It's just too bad I couldn't bring Dudley with me," he replied, and the four of them burst out laughing, Ron spitting water all over the table.

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