Chapter 1
"No, Sirius, come back!" Harry turned around to see Sirius falling through the veil and Bellatrix Lestrange laughing evilly. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He went after Sirius. He was almost there; he would just go and get him back from behind the veil.
Then sixteen-year-old Harry Potter awoke with a start. He was sweating a cold sweat, his blankets were tangled around him, and his scar was aching. This was nothing new to him though; he had been having dreams like this ever since he had returned to Privet Drive. Every night it was the same thing; going through the department of mysteries, fighting the Death Eaters, and then Sirius falling through the veil. He always woke up just as he was about to go through the veil and get Sirius. That is when he always realized that Sirius was dead. Dead. He was never coming back. The one person who cared about him like a son. He was gone. Because of Harry.
Harry had not opened the Christmas gift that could have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble. He hadn't listened to Dumbledore either, he had let Voldemort control him and trick him in to going to the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry Of Magic. He had gotten Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna in danger and most of them suffered small injustices because of him. Then there was the Prophecy, the whole reason all of this had happened. The prophecy with him and Voldemort. The prophecy said that not one of them could live while the other survived. Meaning he either had to kill Voldemort or be killed by him. Every day he worried about how he was supposed to defend himself against the darkest wizard of the time, and be expected to survive.
Someone banging on his bedroom door interrupted Harry's thoughts. It was his cousin Dudley. "Wake up Potter, mum says you have to make breakfast since she is busy getting my stuff together before I leave." He hollered through the door. "Did you hear me?"
"Yes Duddykins, " Harry said sarcastically.
"I heard that," Dudley yelled, "you'd pay for that if I wasn't going to be gone for the rest of the summer."
Harry got back to his thoughts as he heard his cousin thunder down the stairs, which sounded like a herd of cattle since Dudley weighed almost two hundred pounds. At least I only have to put up with him for one more day, thought Harry. Dudley was going away to a summer camp and, lucky for Harry, would be staying there until August. But by then Harry hoped he would be with his friends and never have to see this place again.
Harry was quite happy to have one less Dursley to have to worry about for however long he was stuck there. This lead to his next topic of thought, when Dumbledore would let him leave this place. One of his friends or and Order member was always sending him letters asking how he was and if the Dursleys were treating him okay. If no one got a letter in at least three days they were going to send someone to come and get him, which didn't really bother him since he would much rather be at the Burrow or Grimmauld place with his friends.
Harry had only been away from the wizarding world for two weeks and was already depressed, lonely, and was wallowing in guilt and self-pity.
Then he heard someone yelling at him. "GET DOWN HERE NOW BOY AND MAKE US SOME BREAKFAST OR YOU WON'T HAVE ANY MEALS OF YOUR OWN FOR A WEEK!" bellowed his uncle. Harry sighed and went downstairs to hear his uncle muttering something about him being useless and not worth keeping around. Harry decided to try his luck and respond to this and see how much he could scare his aunt and uncle.
"If you don't want me here then ill just go and send a letter to mad eye moody, you know, the one that met us at the train station last year."
"Now, now, don't you go telling those.... those people that we are doing anything but being a family that takes in their nephew. We have been very, very good to you this summer, letting you keep your things, and letting you sent your letters to those people."
Harry just ate his breakfast and then went upstairs to reply to some of his letters that he had seen fly in while he was making breakfast. He had letters from Ron and Hermionie, of course and there was also letters from Lupin and one that he was mildly surprised at, Ginny. Harry had always like Ron's little sister, and she was one of his friends, but they weren't really that close. Harry had saved her in her first year at Hogwarts, and he knew she had had a crush on him, but last year she got over that. She had never sent him a letter before, so he opened it, curious. It read:
Dear Harry,
Hi, how have you been? Ron says that you are not having a very good time with the muggles, not that that really surprises me. I have been talking to mum and she has been trying to get Dumbledore to let you come but hasn't had any luck yet. hopefully you can be here for your birthday. Look the reason I wrote to you is because I haven't really been your friend for the last few years and I wasn't really nice over the whole thing last Christmas. I just wanted you to know that I know a little bit of what you are going through with seeing Voldemort and all. I also wanted to tell you that even though you probably never knew it I talked to Sirius a lot and his death has affected me too. I know that is probably the last thing you want to hear about right now but I thought you should know. Just remember that if you ever need anyone to talk to I am here and I wont go and tell Ron or mum if you want to tell me anything. It just seemed like last year that you needed to get some things off your mind and I totally know how you feel whether you believe It or not. Hope to see you soon.
Your friend,
Ginny
Harry read through the letter and was a little surprised at what Ginny wrote about. She had been there in the Department Of Mysteries last month and had been very brave fighting off the Death Eaters. He was in such a bad mood he was almost tempted to write to her and tell her everything; he knew that she would never tell Ron. But something was holding him back, though he wasn't sure exactly what it was.
Instead he decided to go and take a walk through the park and maybe read some of his Defense against the Dark Arts books. He had been doing this a lot lately to keep himself from thinking of the things that had happened over the last year. This usually helped him calm down after one of his Dursley encounters. He found himself thinking about his friends and everything that they had written to him so far. Then his thoughts wandered to Ginny again. He wondered what she was doing and he wondered whether or not she really cared about what he had to say. He walked around a little more and then sat down on one of the benches in the park and opened his defense book. He had been reading it a lot lately to try and prepare himself. He also wanted to see if he could keep the D.A. going, even though he was sure Dumbledore would get a good defense teacher this year after everything hat had happened in the past. Later when he looked up from his book he realized that it seemed to be at least noon. He looked at his watch and noticed that he had been in the park for three hours thinking and reading his defense books. He decided that he had better get home so that his aunt and uncle wouldn't be too mad, since they never really liked it when he left the house. As he was walking out he noticed a woman that he often saw sitting on a park bench nearby. He wondered why she always seemed to be there, and wondered why she stayed as long as, or sometimes longer, than him. For some reason each time he saw her he thought for some reason she looked familiar. He pondered this on his way home, but was soon at his front door and his aunt and uncle wanted him to prepare dinner.
Two weeks later Harry was not felling any better that he has at the beginning of the summer. He had gotten in the habit of walking in the park almost every day, and he noticed the same woman was always sitting on the park bench near his. He always briefly wondered why she seemed so familiar. She looked like she was in her early twenties and had long blonde hair she was fair looking to Harry, but it was her eyes that seemed familiar. She never seemed to notice him, so he hadn't seen her eyes often; she always seemed absorbed in a book. But one day he had been particularly mad, and had accidentally caused a bunch of leaves to fall from a tree and he noticed she was staring at him as he left. Her eyes seemed to calm him, kind of like she was saying it was okay and that he didn't need to get angry because he would be with his friends soon. He was happy when he came home one day to find a letter from Ron waiting for him. It read: Harry,
Hey mate! How have you been, sorry I haven't written that much, been busy with things around here. Anyways, mum says that Dumbledore said that it would be okay for you to go to Grimmauld place for your birthday and stay there for the rest of the summer, so someone will be there to get you in a week or so. We will send word. We will be at Grimmauld place when you get there and you should be ready for the best birthday of your life! See you soon
Your best mate, Ron
Harry was overjoyed to hear this. He would be leaving in just over a week! He would finally get to see all of his friends again and he would tell them about everything with the prophecy and all of that and he would hope fully feel better.
"No, Sirius, come back!" Harry turned around to see Sirius falling through the veil and Bellatrix Lestrange laughing evilly. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He went after Sirius. He was almost there; he would just go and get him back from behind the veil.
Then sixteen-year-old Harry Potter awoke with a start. He was sweating a cold sweat, his blankets were tangled around him, and his scar was aching. This was nothing new to him though; he had been having dreams like this ever since he had returned to Privet Drive. Every night it was the same thing; going through the department of mysteries, fighting the Death Eaters, and then Sirius falling through the veil. He always woke up just as he was about to go through the veil and get Sirius. That is when he always realized that Sirius was dead. Dead. He was never coming back. The one person who cared about him like a son. He was gone. Because of Harry.
Harry had not opened the Christmas gift that could have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble. He hadn't listened to Dumbledore either, he had let Voldemort control him and trick him in to going to the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry Of Magic. He had gotten Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna in danger and most of them suffered small injustices because of him. Then there was the Prophecy, the whole reason all of this had happened. The prophecy with him and Voldemort. The prophecy said that not one of them could live while the other survived. Meaning he either had to kill Voldemort or be killed by him. Every day he worried about how he was supposed to defend himself against the darkest wizard of the time, and be expected to survive.
Someone banging on his bedroom door interrupted Harry's thoughts. It was his cousin Dudley. "Wake up Potter, mum says you have to make breakfast since she is busy getting my stuff together before I leave." He hollered through the door. "Did you hear me?"
"Yes Duddykins, " Harry said sarcastically.
"I heard that," Dudley yelled, "you'd pay for that if I wasn't going to be gone for the rest of the summer."
Harry got back to his thoughts as he heard his cousin thunder down the stairs, which sounded like a herd of cattle since Dudley weighed almost two hundred pounds. At least I only have to put up with him for one more day, thought Harry. Dudley was going away to a summer camp and, lucky for Harry, would be staying there until August. But by then Harry hoped he would be with his friends and never have to see this place again.
Harry was quite happy to have one less Dursley to have to worry about for however long he was stuck there. This lead to his next topic of thought, when Dumbledore would let him leave this place. One of his friends or and Order member was always sending him letters asking how he was and if the Dursleys were treating him okay. If no one got a letter in at least three days they were going to send someone to come and get him, which didn't really bother him since he would much rather be at the Burrow or Grimmauld place with his friends.
Harry had only been away from the wizarding world for two weeks and was already depressed, lonely, and was wallowing in guilt and self-pity.
Then he heard someone yelling at him. "GET DOWN HERE NOW BOY AND MAKE US SOME BREAKFAST OR YOU WON'T HAVE ANY MEALS OF YOUR OWN FOR A WEEK!" bellowed his uncle. Harry sighed and went downstairs to hear his uncle muttering something about him being useless and not worth keeping around. Harry decided to try his luck and respond to this and see how much he could scare his aunt and uncle.
"If you don't want me here then ill just go and send a letter to mad eye moody, you know, the one that met us at the train station last year."
"Now, now, don't you go telling those.... those people that we are doing anything but being a family that takes in their nephew. We have been very, very good to you this summer, letting you keep your things, and letting you sent your letters to those people."
Harry just ate his breakfast and then went upstairs to reply to some of his letters that he had seen fly in while he was making breakfast. He had letters from Ron and Hermionie, of course and there was also letters from Lupin and one that he was mildly surprised at, Ginny. Harry had always like Ron's little sister, and she was one of his friends, but they weren't really that close. Harry had saved her in her first year at Hogwarts, and he knew she had had a crush on him, but last year she got over that. She had never sent him a letter before, so he opened it, curious. It read:
Dear Harry,
Hi, how have you been? Ron says that you are not having a very good time with the muggles, not that that really surprises me. I have been talking to mum and she has been trying to get Dumbledore to let you come but hasn't had any luck yet. hopefully you can be here for your birthday. Look the reason I wrote to you is because I haven't really been your friend for the last few years and I wasn't really nice over the whole thing last Christmas. I just wanted you to know that I know a little bit of what you are going through with seeing Voldemort and all. I also wanted to tell you that even though you probably never knew it I talked to Sirius a lot and his death has affected me too. I know that is probably the last thing you want to hear about right now but I thought you should know. Just remember that if you ever need anyone to talk to I am here and I wont go and tell Ron or mum if you want to tell me anything. It just seemed like last year that you needed to get some things off your mind and I totally know how you feel whether you believe It or not. Hope to see you soon.
Your friend,
Ginny
Harry read through the letter and was a little surprised at what Ginny wrote about. She had been there in the Department Of Mysteries last month and had been very brave fighting off the Death Eaters. He was in such a bad mood he was almost tempted to write to her and tell her everything; he knew that she would never tell Ron. But something was holding him back, though he wasn't sure exactly what it was.
Instead he decided to go and take a walk through the park and maybe read some of his Defense against the Dark Arts books. He had been doing this a lot lately to keep himself from thinking of the things that had happened over the last year. This usually helped him calm down after one of his Dursley encounters. He found himself thinking about his friends and everything that they had written to him so far. Then his thoughts wandered to Ginny again. He wondered what she was doing and he wondered whether or not she really cared about what he had to say. He walked around a little more and then sat down on one of the benches in the park and opened his defense book. He had been reading it a lot lately to try and prepare himself. He also wanted to see if he could keep the D.A. going, even though he was sure Dumbledore would get a good defense teacher this year after everything hat had happened in the past. Later when he looked up from his book he realized that it seemed to be at least noon. He looked at his watch and noticed that he had been in the park for three hours thinking and reading his defense books. He decided that he had better get home so that his aunt and uncle wouldn't be too mad, since they never really liked it when he left the house. As he was walking out he noticed a woman that he often saw sitting on a park bench nearby. He wondered why she always seemed to be there, and wondered why she stayed as long as, or sometimes longer, than him. For some reason each time he saw her he thought for some reason she looked familiar. He pondered this on his way home, but was soon at his front door and his aunt and uncle wanted him to prepare dinner.
Two weeks later Harry was not felling any better that he has at the beginning of the summer. He had gotten in the habit of walking in the park almost every day, and he noticed the same woman was always sitting on the park bench near his. He always briefly wondered why she seemed so familiar. She looked like she was in her early twenties and had long blonde hair she was fair looking to Harry, but it was her eyes that seemed familiar. She never seemed to notice him, so he hadn't seen her eyes often; she always seemed absorbed in a book. But one day he had been particularly mad, and had accidentally caused a bunch of leaves to fall from a tree and he noticed she was staring at him as he left. Her eyes seemed to calm him, kind of like she was saying it was okay and that he didn't need to get angry because he would be with his friends soon. He was happy when he came home one day to find a letter from Ron waiting for him. It read: Harry,
Hey mate! How have you been, sorry I haven't written that much, been busy with things around here. Anyways, mum says that Dumbledore said that it would be okay for you to go to Grimmauld place for your birthday and stay there for the rest of the summer, so someone will be there to get you in a week or so. We will send word. We will be at Grimmauld place when you get there and you should be ready for the best birthday of your life! See you soon
Your best mate, Ron
Harry was overjoyed to hear this. He would be leaving in just over a week! He would finally get to see all of his friends again and he would tell them about everything with the prophecy and all of that and he would hope fully feel better.