Standard Disclaimer. I own nothing, take pity on me. All characters are the property of JK Rowling and her wonderful Potterverse.

Hogwarts…

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and according to some, the greatest wizard of the age, sat in his chair and stared reflectively out the window. The war wasn't going well for the current administration; attacks were occurring with increasing frequency, casualties were mounting. Even the order had taken a few losses, mostly injuries.

The school year hadn't ended well for him. Harry and he had had a fight in which many truths were said that he now wished, in retrospect, had remained secret. Harry now knew about his destiny, something that Albus had not really wanted to reveal just yet. But for a brief moment he had let his feelings for the boy overcome logic and divulged the prophecy to him.

But still, things weren't totally beyond repair. His isolation with the Dursley's would give Harry time to calm down and come to realize that his only hope was to turn to him for the training he needed. It was true Harry could have gone to Grimmauld Place, or even the Burrow, but by leaving him there, Harry would be able to see that only Dumbledore could help him.

Yes, this really was the right way to approach it. Harry would be begging for his help come September. And who knows, maybe he could even convince Harry to help him oust that idiot Fudge from office.

So lost in his contemplation Dumbledore never even noticed the disapproving looks he got from Fawkes, his Phoenix.

#12 Grimmauld Place…

Remus Lupin paced back and forth in his third floor room. Inwardly he was an angry man. Only someone close to him would notice the signs of that anger however. His visit to Harry had troubled him greatly, between the secrets revealed in Lily's letter, the abuse Harry had suffered through and the discovery of Harry's wandless magic, he really felt the need to tear into some meat, or to talk to someone.

He only stopped pacing when there was a soft knock on his door. The door opened and Nymphadora Tonks stuck her head in the opening. "Hey, are you alright Remus? You've been awful shirty since your visit with Harry." she said softly. Her hair shifted wildly in color. Remus knew that the metamorphamagus normally maintained strict control over her abilities, it was only when she was upset they got out of control like this.

Remus sighed softly, then thought about what Harry had told him about Tonks. Offering a small smile and, suddenly feeling like a teenager asking for a date, he looked at Tonks. "No, I'm not alright. Tonks, would you allow me the honor of taking you out for diner? I'd like to talk to you about several things, not the least of all is you and I. And I don't want to talk about it here."

Tonks beamed a flawless smile at him and her hair settled down to a soft buttery blond. "I'd really like that Remus." HAH! Maybe hunting this old wolf is about to pay off finally she thought.

The Burrow…

Ginny Weasely lay on her bed trying to read her textbook. Sighing she closed the book and sat up. Something was wrong and she couldn't put her finger on it. For some reason she felt this summer was not going well for Harry.

"Harry," she sighed.

When she first met him, she'd instantly developed a crush on him. It was silly, it was stupid, and it was what kids did. Over the years, since that first meeting, she began to understand that he wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived; he was just Harry. He was loyal to a fault. Brave beyond belief. A very strong wizard, but beyond all that she could sense that, deep down, he was as terrified as a toddler in a thunderstorm. She could sense a pain in him, a terrible crushing pain that he constantly worked to keep hidden and in check. She knew he had grown up with people that didn't care about him. She shuddered thinking what that must be like for a small child, denied the comfort of loving parents. And now he's stuck there all summer, she thought.

Arthur Weasely had informed them last night that Professor Dumbledore wanted Harry to stay with the Dursley's all summer.

Ginny lay back down and opened her book again. The words never came into focus as she realized that no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she missed Harry. The crush she had tried to shake was developing into something far deeper and more profound.

Molly Weasely went about her business in the kitchen, getting ready to prepare dinner for her family. Recollection of last night's conversation at the dinner table filled her with both a bit of joy and a bit of foreboding. Arthur had told the family about Dumbledore's decision for Harry and she was disturbed by it. Ginny had been the most upset. Molly smiled a little thinking that perhaps her daughter's crush on Harry was becoming something more. That would be nice; Harry's a very nice boy, always polite, ever hesitant to put himself forward in the presence of others. Molly thought Ginny and Harry would be perfect for each other. Molly loved Harry like one of her own. For some reason she couldn't understand, something in his eyes seemed to reach out to her, pleading for someone to care about him.

"Harry," she sighed.

Every year he'd go to those muggles, and every year he'd return looking more and more like his spirit had been crushed. Something wasn't right about that and she had so hoped that Albus would allow him to come to the Burrow this year. She remembered briefly what Ron had told her when he showed up in the Burrow the summer between their first and second years. "But mum, they were starving him! He had bars on his windows!" Ron had exclaimed. She shook her head. Surely even muggles wouldn't do that to a child, especially one as polite and sweet as Harry. Trying to shake that train of thought she went back to fixing dinner for her family, Arthur would be home soon.

Privet Drive…

The room was dark, a small mattress lay on the floor and upon it lay Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. The mattress was far too short for his thin frame, his legs dangled off the end. Harry tossed and turned as he slipped from one nightmare to another. Perspiration beaded his forehead and he made small whimpering sounds as he fitfully slept.

BONG!

Harry bolted upright, unsure if he had really heard something, or merely dreamt it. Through his window he could see a waning moon. Staring dully at the moon, it suddenly flared to a searing bright light. When his vision cleared he found himself in the air, flying above the town of Hogsmeade, his black wings keeping him effortlessly aloft. Looking down he saw that many of the buildings were burning; a few had even collapsed upon themselves. Bodies littered the street; off in the distance he could hear someone laughing with glee. It was an evil sound, a cruel laughter with no sense of joy in it and it filled his heart with dread. He knew that laugh. He'd heard it before. "Tom" he thought to himself.

BONG!

The light flared again and suddenly Harry was over what could only be Hogwarts. The Griffyndor Tower had collapsed. The castle was aflame and the courtyard was littered with bodies. Even from this height he could make out who they were. Professors McGonagall and Sprout were on the ground surrounded by a number of first and second year students. Ron! Ron laid covering Hermione, protecting her to the last. Ginny? GINNY! Her body lay near the grand entrance to the school, naked and bloody. Harry choked back a sob while that same evil laughter echoed in the distance.

BONG!

Again the light flared; when it cleared he was back in his normal form, standing near a small thatched cottage. Nearby was a small pond. Strangely, he felt at peace. Noticing smoke rising from the chimney he walked over to the door and knocked.

The door opened and a merry voice from within called him in. "Come in my boy, I'm glad you finally decided to visit me."

The room was sparsely furnished, an armchair by the fire, some books on a shelf, a bed, a table and a few kitchen chairs. In one of the chairs sat an old man, a very old man from the look of him. The man reminded him of someone, but he couldn't put a name to the face. All he knew was it was a kindly face. Whoever this man was, he was a friend.

"Come in Harry, I've been expecting you for some time and no doubt you have loads of questions for me. Unfortunately, our time is very short, so I'll get right to the point. The visions you have experienced are not nightmares Harry. They are visions of the future. Unlike the past, the future can be altered. What you saw is what will be, should you fail in your task. You've been given tremendous power Harry, more so than any other wizard, except perhaps for myself. In time you'll come to learn to use all of that power, but Tom won't give you the time to learn it all. You have to learn to master what you can now and rely on your greatest strength. Your ability to love Harry, your ability to make loyal friends and keep them, its your greatest weapon, if you can harness it."

In the distance there was a pealing of a bell. Instead of the harsh bongs of before, this was a joyous sound. The room started to brighten slowly and the old man started to fade out.

"Wait! Who are you Sir? Will I ever see you again?" Harry cried.

The words came to him softly as if from a great distance, "Yes child, we'll meet again. Trust in yourself Harry and follow your destiny."

The light continued to flare until Harry could see no more. Blinking, Harry realized he still lay on his bed in his darkened bedroom, staring at the waning moon.

A vision? How can that be? All of my visions cause the pain in my scar to flare up! Voldemort had been there, but I didn't feel any pain? Shaking his head, he sat up on the edge of the bed and glared at the moon, as if it should supply the answers to his questions. Something had happened to him. He felt different. No pain this time, but there was something different within him. But what was it? What just happened? He sighed in frustration and recalled the images of the vision.

Tom's laughter and Hogsmeade burning, Ron and 'Mione dead? And Ginny? Ginny dead! He could NOT ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN! No matter what the cost, he couldn't allow it. A grim determination filled Harry as he turned on the small lamp the Dursley's had provided for him and pulled out the Marauders Manual. Turning to the section on wandless magic, he began to study.

The Marauders Ride Again...

Over the next two weeks Harry attacked everything with a grim determination. He studied the Marauders Manual, quickly mastering wandless magic, then moving on to reading about animagus training. His ability with charms and charming objects amazed him. He seemed to only need to know what the object looked like in order to be able to cast a charm on it. He learned to conjure complex objects and even practiced shielding with wandless magic. At night, he'd study the book, during the day he'd work at Jack's, then spend several hours talking about modern muggle military organization. Jack gave him several books on the subject, claiming he didn't want them anymore anyway. The low point of every week was Vernon dictating his letters to the Order, the highpoint was Remus's visits.

It was on Remus's second visit that he really learned the extent of how much Harry had learned. It was the complaints from the watchers that had tipped Remus off.

"Harry? Have you been doing something to the Order's watchers around your house?"

Harry looked sheepish and asked, "Um… what do you mean Remus?"

"Well, lets see. The other day, Tonks was on guard duty and had a problem with birds. Moody kept getting dogs lifting their legs on his wooden leg and, every time Mundungus drank a drop of firewhisky on duty, he'd get uncontrollable diarrhea. Shacklebolt is unable to light his cigarettes on duty, no matter how hard he tries, and the other night, Bill Weasely came out of Arebella's floo blue from head to toe! That STILL hasn't worn off and it's been three days!"

Harry smiled softly and whispered, "Mischief managed."

Remus blinked and then started to laugh. It was a deep laugh, the kind that Harry hadn't seen him do in ages, since before Sirius.

Remus took a few minutes to settle down, wiping the tears from his eyes he tried to be serious. "Harry you have to stop. You keep this up and you'll tip people off to what's happening."

Harry nodded, still smiling, and then watched a bird circling above. Suddenly there was a soft plop coming from behind him. "Are you mad at me, Tonks?" he said with a smirk.

"Damnit Harry!" Remus jumped at the sound of Tonk's voice, and turned to glare at the area the voice was coming from. "You do know that you have to hand wash these invisibility cloaks, don't you," she muttered to Harry in annoyance. "How long have you known I was here?"

"Since the beginning of the month." Harry replied as Remus started to laugh. "I cast a charm on myself that makes your cloaks shimmer. I'm not always sure who's under it, but I knew you were there. By the way Tonks, you do realize you have a piece of bird shi…"

"Stop that right now Harry, you prat!" she hissed.

Remus doubled over, laughing. Harry chuckled and surprisingly Tonks giggled under her cloak.

"Excellent work, Harry," Remus choked out, trying to contain his laughter. "I think its time for the next generation of Marauders to be inducted into our society."

Harry thought about it for a moment. Why not have a little fun? If I can't enjoy life, then Tom has already won the war.

Harry looked nervously over his shoulder at where Tonks would have been standing then looked back to Remus.

"Its ok, Harry. We talked for quite awhile, back at the beginning of the month. She doesn't know everything, but she knows how badly Dumbledore has treated us both and she's not happy about it. She'll keep your secrets, especially since you are the one that kicked me in the arse about her and got me moving in the right direction."

"Really? EXCELLENT!" Harry exclaimed. "I'm happy for both of you! In that case, I already have my Marauder name picked out. But it's a secret till I've gotten the next phase of my training down pat. Maybe by next week I'll have a surprise for you in that regard." He glanced at Remus, and then sighed.

"Remus, I have a favor to ask you. Dumbledore won't let me send any letters except for my weekly ones to the order. If I gave you letters, would you see they get delivered for me?"

Tonks whispered "If he won't, I will Harry. Just tell people to send their letters to me or Remus and I'll see you get them. This way you won't have to wait a week to send them."

"Thanks, Tonks."

Harry stood up looking around. Remus looked at him noting he was finally putting on some muscle tone; he seemed to have filled out some as well. "Are the Dursley's feeding you alright Harry? You look better than you did."

Harry looked sheepish and said, "I'm eating fine now. I get a good breakfast at Jack's. Lunch and dinner were a problem, until I figured out how to conjure food. But that's ok now too."

"The Dursley's pretty much ignore me now. I leave before most of them are up, and return straight to my room. It's not the best situation, but the silence of being ignored is better than a kick in the ribs."

Remus chilled to hear those words, and that they were spoken in such a matter of fact manner, but had to agree with Harry. Still, it must be terribly lonely for him at night with no one to talk to. Remus had only recently come to understand his own isolation. Being with Tonks had banished that. But now that it was gone, he realized how special having someone around was. He also realized that being alone could be very damaging to a person.

Harry and Remus walked silently back to Privet Drive, with an invisible Tonks in tow.

Rebirth…

Later that same evening Harry finished the section of the Manual on animagus training for the third time. He knew how it worked, now to see if he could do it. Standing in the center of his room, he focused himself inward and tuned out his environment entirely. Harry could feel the magic building up in himself. He knew what he hoped to change into and he prayed he was right. This was either going to work or he'd be in for quite an uncomfortable night. Continuing the exercise, Harry focused all his will and magic on the form he had been reaching for all week. The manual's exercises were quite specific, quest for your inner animal, and learn its aspect before attempting the morph. He had spent the last ten evenings doing just that. The meditating, directed dreaming, even his vision from the beginning of the month gave him clues. The problem was everything pointed to something that supposedly couldn't be done.

In his mind he could see his form, but it was caged, locked behind a barrier. Harry pushed with his magic. Time and time again he beat against the barrier feeling it weaken with each blow. It was now or never. With one final push the barrier gave way. Harry felt everything alter around him.

Hedwig, the sole witness to this remarkable feat turned her head to stare at Harry. She flapped her wings and blinked owlishly. Harry turned to look at Hedwig, and then jumped up on the table to look at himself in the small mirror there.

It worked! I'm a phoenix! And a handsome phoenix at that! Harry admired himself in the mirror. Jet-black feathers with a white lightening stripe down his back.

Oh, to fly! I want to fly, fast and far. I can go anywhere! Stretching out his wings, he raised his head, ready to sing out his joy in a burst of Phoenix song. He froze. Wait, this can't happen. Not yet!

Tucking his wings back, he looked at himself in the mirror once more. Concentrate Harry, he thought. This is the dangerous part. I must conquer the animal within to maintain my identity.

Slowly but surely, reason beat back instinct. After a few minutes Harry realized he had mastered the animal. Taking stock of himself, he didn't feel tired, which in itself was surprising. The manual said he should feel tired. Flapping his wings he took flight from the tabletop and circled the room a few times before landing back in the center of the room. Changing back to his human form was even easier than he thought. One moment he was on the floor in Phoenix form, the next he was standing on his own two feet, checking his body parts again.

Harry transformed back and forth several times that night before crawling into bed. Each time the transformation was a little easier and little faster. Apparently once the barrier was broken, it stayed broken. Harry slipped into a comforting sleep that night, the first one in a long time, and dreamt of visiting a certain redhead near Ottery St. Catchpole.

Reaching Out…

The next night was hard on Harry. With a little more than a week to go to his birthday, he knew he had to get some letters out to his friends. Putting the Marauders Manual aside, he pulled out some parchment and began to write.

Ron,
Hey Mate! How are you doing? I'm really sorry you got hurt in the ministry that night and I hope your feeling better now. I can't tell you how badly I felt to see my friends getting hurt following me into that bloody mess. What a wanker I was, eh? All I can say is I'm proud to consider you my best mate Ron, and I hope you'll forgive me for leading us all into that trap.

With that said, let me talk about what's going on here. Dumbledore has forbidden anyone to send me any letters. I'm trapped here 'til the end of the summer. If you want to send me a letter, send it to Professor Lupin at Grimmauld Place. He'll see that I get it. What ever you do, DO NOT let your mum and dad know you're sending me letters. Dumbledore would skin you alive if he found out, and then your mum would skin you some more. We have a lot to talk about, but I can't do it here. I'm still working out all the details, but if I can I'll arrange for all of us to meet soon. (Mind you, all of this is SUPER TOP SECRET!)

So get writing, tell me what's happening. I'm very alone this summer. I have a day job working for a muggle, who's a really nice bloke, but he is really an old guy and it's not the same thing.

Harry

Setting the letter aside, he sighed. One down, only five more to go, he thought.

Dear Hermione
I really hope your feeling better 'Mione. I can't tell you how bad I felt when I saw you hurt in the ministry. I feel like you're my sister and had we not been in the middle of a battle I think I would have broke down and cried seeing you like that.

You were right 'Mione and I was wrong. I'll admit it. If I hadn't rushed off to the ministry, Sirius would still be alive and you would have never gotten hurt. Next time I'll listen to you. I'm not quite ok, but I think I'm finally getting to the point of accepting the fact that he's gone.

By now you're probably at the Burrow. So tell me Sis, have you finally managed to nudge Ron off the fence yet? I know for a fact he fancies you, but is just too shy to make a move. Remember Griffyndors have courage (except for Ron when he's thinking about you).

With that said, let me talk about what's going on here. Dumbledore has forbidden anyone to send me any letters. I'm trapped here 'til the end of the summer. If you want to send me a letter, send it to Professor Lupin at Grimmauld Place. He'll see that I get it. What ever you do, DO NOT let Ron's mum and dad know you're sending me letters. Dumbledore would skin you alive if he found out, and then Ron's mum would skin you some more. We have a lot to talk about, but I can't do it here. I'm still working out all the details, but if I can I'll arrange for all of us to meet soon. (Mind you, all of this is SUPER TOP SECRET!)

I'll close this letter for now, but I will ask you if you mind me thinking of you as my sister? I have no brothers or sisters but I care for you as much as I would care for a real sister.

Your brother (Hopefully)
Harry

Whew, this is a lot harder than it looks, Harry thought.

Pulling out more parchment Harry quickly wrote two more letters, one to Neville and another to Luna. Those were the easy ones. He saved the hardest letter to last.

Dear Ginny
This is my third attempt to put my thoughts to paper and get this letter written to you. For some reason writing to you is a lot harder than writing to anyone else. I'll start off by saying I am so sorry you were hurt that night in the ministry. I would rather die than see you get hurt again. I also want to apologize to you for ignoring you for the past few years. Yeah I'm stupid and a git, I'll admit that. It wasn't until last year that I even realized you were someone other than just Ron's little sister. It's not something I'm proud of, oh bloody hell, it's something that shames me deeply.

I have been given some advice from someone I can't name in this letter, who told me I should talk to you. Tell me Ginny, do you still have nightmares about Tom and your first year at Hogwarts? I hate to admit it, but barely a night goes by where I don't have at least one nightmare. How did you cope? How? I'm doing ok I guess, but rarely do I get more than four or five hours sleep in a night and to be honest its beginning to wear me down. Some days I feel like I'm numb to the world, other times I'm just so scared I want to curl up in a ball and die.

This is probably going to come out sounding silly and stupid, and I'm sure after I send this letter I'll wish I hadn't. But I'd really like to get to know you better Ginny. Damn why is it so hard to talk to you? I'm sitting here bursting with things I want to say and everything ends up sounding so stupid!

Dumbledore is being a git and refusing to allow anyone to send me any letters. Send a reply to this letter via Professor Lupin at Grimmauld Place and he'll see I get it. You can trust him. I've sent letters to Ron, 'Mione, Neville and Luna, but don't tell anyone but those four about any letters you get from me. I hate having to hide our letters like this, but it's really important that we do. Hopefully I'll be able to explain it all soon. I have a plan, which I'm still working on, but I may be able to meet with you next month. Until then, in Dumbledore's prison I must remain.

I'll understand if you decide not to reply to this letter. After leading us all into that trap I'm not sure I want to talk to me either!

Love
Harry

Harry sealed the letters. He'd put them outside in the morning and let Tonks know where they were as he walked by her on the way to Jack's place.

Replies and Thoughts…

Two days later Remus took Arthur up on his offer to come visit the Burrow for the day and take a breath of fresh air. Remus always enjoyed visiting the Burrow. It wasn't the posh elegance of some of the member's homes, but it clearly said family.

After sharing a cup of tea with Molly, he told her he wanted to check on Hermione and see how she was keeping up on her studies. She told him the kids were out by the new swimming hole they'd dug that summer.

Remus walked down to the swimming hole and sat down, leaning against a tree. Ron, Ginny and Hermione were playing around splashing in the water. Hermione spotted Remus watching them.

"Professor Lupin! Are you planning to join us," she asked with a smile. Hermione loved most of her teachers, Professor Snape being the sole exception to that rule and it was a constant source of irritation to Ron.

"No Hermione, but can you three come on out of the water for a bit? I have some news I'd like to share with you." The three of them piled out of the water grabbing towels and sat down next to Remus.

"Is something wrong," asked Ginny, looking suddenly worried by Remus's somber mood. "Is Harry ok?"

Thinking of Lily's letter, Remus smiled at Ginny, "No Ginny, there's nothing wrong. In fact I have something I need to give to each of you, but you need to promise me on your oath as wizards and witches that you will not tell anyone, not even your parents about this." After receiving a chorus of promises, he pulled a bundle out of his pocket.

"Harry asked me to give you these," he said, handing out the three letters. "I've already given Neville and Luna their letters. According to Harry, he included instructions on how to reply to these letters. I'd suggest waiting until later to read them. You can owl me with your replies and I'll see he gets them. Just remember, don't tell your parents about this or you won't be able to send any letters to Harry."

"Is Harry ok, Professor?" asked Ginny again. She clutched her letter like it was the most important thing in the whole world. Remus smiled sadly at her.

"I think he's getting over guilt he feels for Sirius' death Ginny, but he definitely has his good and bad days. Sometimes he's really hurting. He tries to hide it from me, but I see it anyway. I know he's very lonely and misses all of you very much. He's also scheming something. I don't know what it is. I think he wants to talk to you guys about it before letting me in on it. He's got a lot of things to worry about right now and he's not in the best place to be. I think getting your letters back will help him a lot. If you can get me your letters before Sunday I'll be able to give them to him then."

All three of them listened to Remus, wide eyed. Ginny and Hermione's eyes welled up with tears and they nodded in understanding.

The four walked back to the Burrow. After dinner, Remus thanked Molly for the excellent meal, and returned to Grimmauld Place. Ginny said she wanted to work on her summer homework. Hermione followed her, talking about having a book to read. As Ron went upstairs to polish and tune his broom, Molly was left to marvel at what industrious children she had this summer.

Hermione and Ginny entered the room they shared and both pulled out their letters. It wasn't long before both of them were sobbing softly in the room. Looking at each other with watery, sad smiles, they both set about writing their replies.

Ron being Ron, his reply was fairly short and easy to write. After all, the Chudley Canons were still on their losing streak and, to Ron at least, that meant there was no justice in the world. Later that evening, Pigwidgeon was off with his burden to Remus.

Hermione hadn't been asleep long when the sound of Ginny crying awakened her. Hermione climbed out of her nest of blankets and sat on Ginny's bed. "Ginny? What's wrong?" She asked softly.

"It's Harry, 'Mione. I think he was trying to say he liked me, but at the same time he told me about how bad he's hurting." Ginny explained about some parts of the letter Harry had sent her, causing Hermione to frown.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I think Professor Dumbledore has made a big mistake with Harry. I know Harry's angry with him and frankly so am I!" Ginny tried unsuccessfully to choke back another sob. Hermione embraced her and whispered in her ear "Hush, Ginny. If he likes you and is reaching out to you, then it means he's willing to accept help from you. So cheer up. Harry might be hurting, but I suspect you're the one that's going to make him happy again."

Ginny searched the older girls eyes carefully. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes Ginny, I think that's exactly what's going on. The boy that fancies you might not be one hundred percent whole at the moment, but I think you're going to fix that."

The two girls embraced again, then Hermione returned to her own bed.

Vernon's Warpath and Owls…

On the last Saturday of the month, and barely 3 days to Harry's birthday, Harry returned to the Dursley's after spending a grueling day painting and moving furniture. Harry still didn't perform magic, except under special circumstances, so he was bone tired when he got home. Despite feeling so drained he did manage to check Tonk's letter drop and was eager to read the letters from his friends.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT ANYMORE OF YOUR FREAKISH WAYS IN HERE BOY!" Vernon roared as Harry closed the front door.

Harry was confused and started to stammer. "Wha-what? But I haven't been here to do anything!"

"GET THE LETTER FROM THAT DAMN OWL BOY AND THEN GET THAT RUDDY BIRD OUT OF HERE!"

Harry retrieved the letter from the unknown owl and watched it fly out of the house. He turned towards the stairs when he was kicked from behind and went sprawling to the floor. While Harry lay on the floor, shocked, Vernon reared back and planted a solid kick to the right side of Harry's chest. Harry scrambled to his feet wincing at the pain and ran up to his room.

"I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR FREAKISH FACE AGAIN TONIGHT BOY!" Vernon bellowed at his retreating back.

Breathing heavily and wincing in pain from his bruised ribs, Harry ripped open the letter he had paid for so dearly, hoping the information it contained was worth it.

Mr. Harry Potter
Pursuant to Wizarding Regulation 157-86b, here are the results of your owls. Please note these represent total scores summing both the written and practical exams (where applicable).

ClassScore

Potions O
Charms O
Transfiguration O
Divination A
History of Magic D
Care of Magical Creatures O
Defense Against the Dark Arts O+
Astronomy E

Total Owls 7.

Congratulations Mr. Potter. You are one of only 10 students in the last 200 years to receive an Owl with Distinction in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Please inform the Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, which classes you intend to attend next year before August 10th.

On another note, I have been tasked with informing you that your lifetime ban on Quidditch imposed by Delores Umbridge has been revoked. She had neither the authority to enact such a penalty or cause to. On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, please accept our apologies in this regard.

Sincerely,
Mathilda Hopkiss
Department of Examinations
Ministry of Magic

Seven Owls! Including one with distinction! He couldn't believe it! And an O in potions? Whoa! He quickly scrawled off a letter to Professor McGonagall for Remus to deliver.

Next he turned to the letters from his friends, precious letters, a lifeline to the outside world.

Ron's letter was as expected. He's ok now, no adverse effects from the brain attack and he's bummed out because the Chudley Canons continue their record breaking losing streak. No, some things in Ron's life never change.

Harry read both Neville and Luna's letters with relief. They were both pleased that he'd think enough of them to call them his friend and they were proud of the praise he heaped on their part of the fight so many weeks ago. Both hinted that they fancied the other, but hadn't come to the point of actually talking to each other about it yet.

Hermione's letter was a bit harder to handle. He could see the joy in finding someone willing to call her sister, and she was extraordinarily pleased about that. On the other hand, she went into this long tirade about dealing with his grief and finding someone to talk to. Oh yeah, like Dumbledore is going to allow that, he thought.

Ginny's letter scared him. He spent most of his letter babbling to her and he wasn't sure he wanted to read it. Would she reject him out of hand? Would she forgive him? His hand darted out to that letter and pulled back a half dozen times before he calmed himself enough to open it.

Dear Harry,
I was so happy to read your letter and would love to get the chance for you to know me better. I don't think you were ignoring me for the past few years, I just think you needed time to recognize that I was there Harry. I've been there for you ever since you rescued me from Tom's chamber in my first year.

Your letter touched my heart. I know what you mean about the nightmares and I can only tell you that you need to talk about them with someone you can trust. If you like, I'd be happy to talk to you about them when we next see each other. Now you'll have to excuse me but... HARRY JAMES POTTER, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU MEAN TALKING ABOUT WANTING TO CURL UP AND DIE? DON'T YOU REALIZE HOW MANY PEOPLE LOVE YOU AND WOULD BE HURT BY THAT? SO MANY PEOPLE CARE ABOUT YOU HARRY, TO LOSE YOU WOULD MAKE THE WORLD SO MUCH MORE SAD. RON AND HERMIONE WOULD BE CRUSHED; MUM AND DAD WOULD BE CRUSHED! I DON'T THINK I'D BE ABLE TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU HARRY, SO STOP TALKING THAT WAY. YOU'RE BEING AN ARSE!

Harry winced over that, and then went back to reading.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way Harry, yes I do think we need to talk, the sooner the better. I'm not sure I understand why Professor Dumbledore is acting the way he is, but right now I'm planning on slipping my improved bat bogey hex on him when I get the chance. Ron, Hermione and I are so angry at what he's done to you. Is there anyway we can see you sooner?

Love
Ginny

The thought of Dumbledore getting hexed by Ginny was enough to make him laugh. It would serve him right, he thought. More importantly however, images of how Ginny looked when she was angry, how cute she was, flashed through his head.

Harry knew it was getting late, but he wanted to get a fast note to Ginny ready for tomorrow. He wrote a quick note asking her if there was any place near The Burrow where she could meet him privately, then apologized for such a short note.

Sunday with Remus and Tonks…

The next morning Harry met up with Remus and Tonks in the park. Tonks was off duty today. After handing Remus the letters, he needed to make a special request of the two of them.

"Remus, I want to show you both something, in private, but the only place I can think of that's private enough for this is my friend's house. You know, the American squib? Would that be ok with you and Tonks?"

Remus looked at Tonks for a moment, then she nodded in agreement. After a short walk to 10 Privet Drive, they entered the home.

"Jack! Jack, are you around," yelled Harry.

"Harry? Waddya doing here today? Its your day off," Jack said as he limped into the living room and stopped, eyeing the two strangers warily.

"Jack, I'd like you to meet Remus Lupin and his girlfriend Nymphadora Tonks, or Tonks for short. Call her by her first name and she'll carve her name on your stomach just for the fun of it. Remus used to be one of my professors at school and he's practically the only family I have left. He knew my mum and dad. Tonks is what we call an Auror, it's the wizarding world equivalent of a policeman, well, sort of anyway."

"Remus, Tonks, I've been working for Jack all summer, he's ex-military and I've learned a lot from him about the muggle arts of war. I won't say I know it all, but I know a lot more than I used to know. He's given me more than a few ideas I want to try out with the DA this year."

After the three of them exchanged handshakes, Jack invited them to sit down in the living room. Harry looked at the three of them with a sly smile.

Jack wondered what the heck was going on, and was the first one to bite. "Harry, would you like to tell us what's going on, or are you going to stand there with a shit eating grin all day? You look like a tomcat that just got laid!" Remus and Tonks cracked up at this and Harry tried to scowl at Jack for stealing his thunder, then sighed and smiled again.

"Ok Jack, its like this. Remus used to belong to a select group of friends in my school that included my Dad, Mum and Godfather. Now, I'm going to show him why its time for me to join that group also. We needed a place that was private enough and I trust you Jack. That's why we came here."

Remus, leaning forward, looked up sharply. "You've mastered your animagus form Harry?" Tonks took in a sharp breath.

"Yes Remus, let me introduce you to WINGS!"

Harry paused for a second to make sure all were watching and then he transformed to his phoenix form. Remus and Tonks both paled but Jack watched on with interest as Harry glided around the room. Then with a calming cry he flame traveled from the living room to the kitchen and back. Turning back to his normal form, Harry crossed his arms and stood there waiting for a reaction. Remus's mouth was wide open; Tonks gripped his hand tightly, shaking her head. Jack looked up at Harry not quite understanding what he had just witnessed, and exclaimed. "That was fantastic Harry!"

"Umm Remus? Tonks?" asked Harry.

Remus visibly shook off the shock and looked at Harry. "Do you know what you have just done Harry? No wizard has been able to transform into a magical creature since the age of Merlin! And even then, we have only hints of people being able to do it! If I didn't see it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it!"

Remus and Tonks both jumped off the couch and hugged Harry. Remus said, "Wings indeed, right now Prongs is poking Lily and saying that's my boy! And Padfoot is probably claiming it came from his side of the family!"

Harry was grinning madly. "I've tested most of the abilities except for the healing tears. I can flame travel,lift very heavy objects, I have no problems flying around or landing. Pretty cool right?"

Jack looked slightly puzzled and asked about the underage restriction Harry had told him about. Remus explained that only applied to wanded magic. What Harry had done was all internally focused, and wandless to boot, hence undetectable.

Jack invited the three of them to lunch. Sitting at the table he regaled them with tales from his career and traded stories with Tonks. They spent a pleasant afternoon visiting with Jack and before long it was time for everyone to return home. Harry returned to the Dursley's. Remus and Tonks apparated back just outside of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Upon entering the manor, Remus suddenly scrunched up his face like he had just bit into something distasteful before darting up the stairs to his room. Tonks followed, puzzled. Hurrying into his room he immediately started to strip out of his clothing.

Tonks closed the door, leaned back against it and watched curiously while Remus tore at his clothes until he was down to just his underwear. His normally plain white boxers had transformed into the most embarrassingly skimpy g-string, tastefully done in the British Union Jack. Tonks collapsed on the floor in hysterics while Remus glared at her.

Seeing his expression, she choked back her laughter, then blinked. Standing quickly, she started peeling off her clothing just as quickly as Remus had. Grinning, Remus watched as, apparently, her underwear had just gone through the same transformation. In the shocked silence, Tonks stood there, in a skimpy bikini bra and g-string, her shoes transformed into eight-inch stiletto heels.

Tonks glanced up from her shocking attire to Remus's grinning face as the faint strains of Rule Britannia could be heard in the room. Remus doubled over with laughter, Tonks started to giggle. She shoved Remus, thinking to knock him over. Before he hit the floor, he wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her to the floor with him before they both burst out in hysterical laughter.

Back on Privet Drive Harry Potter looked upwards with a faint smile, his eyes glazed over and murmured, "Mischief managed".

Another Birthday Alone…

Harry's birthday was spent mostly alone. He was supposed to go to Jack's, but when he arrived, he found a note saying that Jack had to go out of town for three days. Harry trudged back to the Dursley's, depressed by the fact that he'd have to spend the day with people who hated him. The sole highpoint was finding a note at Tonks' letter drop from Ginny, detailing a place and time he could meet with her tomorrow.

Harry spent most of the day meditating and enhancing his mental shields. The work needed to learn both wandless magic and becoming an animagus was a great help in perfecting his occulmency. Harry now had rock solid shields that, for the most part, prevented Voldemort from picking through his thoughts. Unfortunately, the scar still bothered him. Some nights, he'd bolt from the bed in pain, screaming. The only thing that prevented Vernon from pounding his head in was the silencing charm he had cast on the room. His only consolation was, the next time Snape tried to break into his mind, he was in for a rude surprise.

Harry crawled into bed that night, missing his friends and angry with Dumbledore for ruining his life. All in all, it had been one of the worst birthdays of his life.

First Meeting…

Harry woke early again, the nightmares still plaguing his sleep. Ginny's note said that Ron and Hermione would be busy most of the day and Molly would be at Grimmauld Place. She could meet him early, near a small, unused storage shed near the swimming hole. Harry spent his early hours reading a book that Remus had bought him called "Winning Duels Against Dark Wizards Using Dirty Tricks". It wasn't a bad book, but it put most of the emphasis on one-on-one dueling. As the time approached for Harry to leave, he started to get more and more nervous. Was he doing the right thing? Should he get others involved in this? Tom could use his feelings for his friends to hurt them all. Maybe he should forget about meeting with Ginny and just try to do it alone?

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain his forehead; his Mum's letter had shot out from under his pillow and smacked him in the forehead. The letter lay on the floor, one part glowed an angry red.

Be very careful who you trust, Harry. Not everyone around you is looking out for your best interests, no matter what they may tell you. Ron and Hermione are loyal to you, as are Neville, Luna and your Ginny. Never doubt that. Remus thinks of you as a son, and would never betray you. Trust his instincts! Your friends will be your greatest source of strength, Harry. You will need them more in the coming years than ever before. Do not push them away. Lean on them, listen to their counsel and hold them close.

Harry blinked and murmured, "Yes, Mum," then smiled softly. Returning the letter to its envelope he stuffed the letter carefully into a pocket. Harry then transformed into a phoenix and vanished in burst of flame.

Ginny walked out of the Burrow and wandered down to the old shed. She had told Ron and 'Mione that she was going out for a walk to think. Hermione figured she needed some time to sort out her feelings for Harry and having her out of the way would be a good time for her and Ron to try once again to talk to each other.

Ginny wondered how Harry expected to get here. He didn't have his broom; that was still locked up Umbridge's old office at Hogwarts. He was too young to apparate. The only thing that made any sense was, he was either taking some sort of muggle transportation, or Remus had somehow made an illegal portkey for him. With the shed between her and the Burrow she couldn't see the house. She looked around curiously wondering which way he'd appear from.

It was quiet behind the shed. The forest was barely 20 feet away and here and there she could hear the occasional bird. Suddenly there was a flash of light and fire. Startled, she stepped back, the fire vanished and in its place was the most wondrous black phoenix. The bird glided around her a few times singing a joyous song of welcome, then alighted on her shoulder. Ginny knew about phoenixes. Hagrid had covered them last year before being chased off by Umbridge. Phoenixes were creatures of the light, very rare and hard to befriend. To have one land on her shoulder was a high honor. She reached up and caressed the soft downy feathers. The phoenix leaned into her caress, then turned its head to look at her, winked once and took off again. She noted the white lightening bolt coloring on its back and began to wonder. It only flew a short distance before turning around and in mid-flight transformed into Harry Potter!

Ginny gasped. "Harry?"

With a lunge, she threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around him. Harry buried his head into her shoulder and breathed deeply of the soft, sweet fragrance that was distinctly Ginny. Merlin she smelled good! They stayed that way as Ginny started fire questions at him.

"A phoenix? Harry! How did you do it? Are you registered? No, of course not. That damn Fudge would be up in arms over this. How did you do it? How? Harry?" She pulled back in his arms and looked at him closely. He looks like he hasn't any had much sleep in weeks, she thought. Those nightmares must be really bad. He seems to be well fed and if I'm not mistaken he's actually got muscles now!

"I think maybe the animagus part can wait, Harry. Come sit with me by the shed."

She took his hand, led him over to the shed and sat down. They still held hands, and all she could think was, I'M HOLDING HARRY'S HAND! I'M HOLDING HARRY'S HAND!

Harry looked anywhere but in her eyes. He knew if he looked into her soft brown eyes he'd be lost.

"Oh Harry," she said gently, reaching up with her other hand to touch his cheek. "Tell me about the nightmares please. I want to know."

Harry started off slowly, his voice almost inaudible. He started talking about his nightmares. As if a floodgate were opening, he told her about how many times he'd watched her and the others walk through the veil in the death chamber, or killed at the hands of Death Eaters, or by Tom. He told her about the nightmares where all of his friends reject him because he's a danger to their lives and the numerous nightmares where he stumbled onto her body too late to do anything. All the while, tears were flowing freely down his cheeks.

He told her about the nights when he woke up screaming, and the nights when his scar burned painfully. He was rocking back and forth now, trying to stop the pain and control his fears. He couldn't look her in the eye. He had revealed his weakness, laid bare his soul, explained how unworthy he was of their friendship. how they'd be in danger as his friend. Slowly he wound down and they sat in silence. Harry was afraid to look at her.

Ginny said softly "Harry, please look at me."

He shook his head. She got up on her knees in front of him and gently pulled his face up to look him in the eye. Somehow she knew that, while he might be the mightiest wizard in the world, right now he was laid naked before her, all his fears and nightmares exposed in the bright light of day. She shivered slightly; she could get lost staring into those glorious green eyes, but not right now. Right now, she could see his pain and fears echoed in his eyes. He was like a thin sheet of ice ready to shatter and melt away.

"Oh Harry… No one is going to leave you, or reject you. We all love you," she whispered and kissed his forehead. Harry crumpled against her, crying. She wrapped her arms around him and looked skyward, her own eyes moist with tears and cursed the fates that had turned this gentle young man into such a tortured soul. For a long time they stayed like that, locked in a gentle embrace while Harry, bit by bit, pulled himself back from the edge of the abyss, with the help of a loving soul. Slowly, he pulled away from her and gave her a weak smile, his eyes looking less shadowed, the lost look draining away.

"Merlin, its good to see you again Gin," he said.

Ginny blinked and wondered. Gin? Normally any person who called her that would be on the receiving end of a bat bogey hex, but it didn't sound all that bad from Harry. It sounded very intimate and actually sent shivers down her back.

With the spark returning to Harry, she was hard pressed not to hide behind her own embarrassment. Harry leaned over and kissed her softly on her check, then whispered in her ear, "Thank you Gin. My mum was right about you." Pulling back, she didn't even notice that her tear stained sundress was now dry and clean.

Now that was startling. What could he mean by his mum? Harry didn't even remember her except for some vague nightmares and when attacked by dementors.

"Harry, I thought your mum died when you were a baby?"

"She did, but she left me a letter. I would have found it a lot earlier but Professor Dumbledore prevented me from finding it." Harry went on to explain the strange enchantment on the letter and how the words had appeared as if someone had been writing them as he read it. He looked at her shyly and asked if she would like to see it.

She nodded. This sounded like very powerful magic, and it took a master wizard or witch to be able to cast an enchantment that could reach beyond the mortal plane.

Harry pulled out his precious letter and hesitated. Suddenly the letter shook violently in his hands. "Ok, ok Mum! Oh Merlin," he growled at the letter before look back up at the girl before him. "Its sort of embarrassing Ginny, Merlin this isn't easy!" he said blushing.

Ginny took the letter wondering what could be so embarrassing to him and started to read. She paused at several points in the letter to peer at Harry, but he made a point of studying one of his torn trainers. He couldn't look her in the eye. Finally she carefully folded the letter and placed it back in its envelope. It was sacred.

"Harry," she asked shyly, "is what your mum said about me true?"

Harry nodded nervously; he wouldn't look her in the eye again. Ginny thought to herself BOYS! They are such idiots sometimes, and then she grabbed Harry and kissed him soundly.

Harry froze for a moment like an animal caught in a bright light, then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. Harry felt like he was caught up in a whirlwind, his mind completely gone. There wasn't a single spot on her he didn't want to kiss. He slowly kissed down her check and then onto her neck, she tilted her head back to give him better access, all the while making soft noises, egging him on. He had started to work on her shoulder, even pulling the fabric of her dress back when he stopped and just hugged her for a moment before releasing her. Ginny rocked back on her heels, her face flushed and her heart pounding.

"Sweet Merlin!" Ginny gasped.

"WOW!" said Harry.

They both looked at each other, hearts racing, breathing heavily and then they both giggled and hugged each other again.

"Gin, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually I am. Would you like me to run home and bring us something?"

"No need," he said with a smile and then conjured a picnic basket, complete with cold butterbeers.

"Harry, that's the second time I've seen you do magic without a wand! What's going on here? You know the Ministry laws against underage magic! You could get expelled, or sent to Azkaban!"

"Gin, I'll explain it all to you, Ron and Hermione tomorrow. If you can arrange for Neville and Luna to be here, that would be even better. Just make sure you all meet me here the same time as you did today. Today, lets just enjoy ourselves, alright?"

She nodded and started to pull food and drinks from the basket. They sat close together, eating comfortably and talking about all sorts of unimportant stuff. Every so often their hands touched, causing them both to blush. When they were done eating, Harry banished the basket. They sat for a while, saying nothing, then Harry sighed. Ginny was sure he was going to say something, but she thought he was working up the courage first.

Harry looked at her strangely; she thought she could now see a hunger in his eyes. She blushed and felt a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could feel and see the tension in him at this point and wondered what could have gotten him so tense again.

"Gin, would you like to be… er, I mean would you… do you think it would be possible…oh Merlin!" He put his head in his hands and softly said "Why is it so hard for me to ask you to be my girlfriend?"

Ginny pulled his head up by his chin and softly whispered in his ear "I'd love to be your girlfriend Harry." Then she blushed all the way to the roots of her hair. She looked at him shyly, torn between embarrassment and joy over what he had asked. Once again they kissed softly, the longer the kiss lasted the more passionate it became. Ginny was running her hands up under the back of his shirt. Harry seemed to revel in the softness of her lips; the feel of her soft breasts pressed against him drove him wild. Harry slowly gained control of himself and pulled back from her, he hugged her again and whispered in her ear, "I saved you once from Tom, but today you saved me." That sent a thrill racing through Ginny.

After a long while of holding her, just enjoying the company, Harry pulled away and said with a broad smile, "Its getting late Gin. You should go back home and I'll see you tomorrow."

With a silly grin on his face he hugged her once again and whispered, "No matter what happens, wait until tomorrow morning to take your shower. And whatever you see tonight, blame it on Fred and George."

He then stepped back, transformed into Wings and sang a soft croon to her before flame traveling back to Privet Drive.

That Night in The Burrow…

Molly Weasely had had a hard day doing things for the Order. She was glad to be home and finally able to relax. Molly stepped into the shower and, while washing her hair, went back through the events of the day. A few minutes later, as she shut the water off she started to prepare a mental list of things to do tomorrow. However, when she exited the shower, there was a flash of light and she felt slightly dizzy. Putting a hand against the wall to steady herself, the noticed her arm first. Gawking, she glanced down at the rest of her body and let out an unholy shriek. She was covered from head to toe in soft downy feathers! And her feet were now duck flippers!

Dashing to the bedroom she threw on a robe and shouted at the top of her lungs "WHERE ARE THOSE BOYS!"

Hermione, Ginny and Ron stuck their heads out of their bedrooms. Hermione looked horrified, Ron, dumb founded. Ginny had jammed her fist into her mouth and was trying desperately not to laugh.

Arthur came running from downstairs and Molly, waving her arms around, yelled again "I'm going to kill those two boys. I rue the day I ever gave birth to them! QUACK!" Horrified Molly clapped her hands over her mouth and ran back into the master bedroom, closely followed by Arthur.

Hermione looked at Ron and asked, "Do you think it's safe?"

Ron shrugged, replying, "Yeah, usually they only do one shot charms."

Hermione grabbed her robe and a towel and headed off to the shower. About ten minutes later another shriek was heard from the bathroom.

The door opened and Hermione stalked out, a walking talking cat woman, down to the wet fur, angrily whipping tail, twitching whiskers and pointy ears, which now lay flat on her head! As she passed Ron she hissed at him, "You say a word and I'll rip out your eyeballs!"

Ginny was on her bed, her pillow pulled tight over her face trying desperately to muffle her laughter. All she could think was, OH Harry!

Hermione glared at Ginny hiding on the bed, trying to hide her laughter and told her "Your brothers are so dead! And if I find out you had anything to do with his, so are you!" Her tail whipped wildly back and forth.

Back on Privet Drive Harry Potter looked upwards with a faint smile, his eyes glazed over and murmured "Mischief managed".

Harry settled down for nightmare-less night for the first time in weeks.

The next morning Ron, Ginny and Hermione were sitting behind the shed. Molly was once again off to Grimmauld Place. Ginny insisted that they come with her to meet Harry. Ron thought she had finally gone "Barking mad" as he put it. Hermione was still a little put out from last night. They hadn't been there long when Wings appeared in a flash of flame. Circling the trio, he sang a song of greetings and then landed on Ginny's shoulder, nudging her gently with his head. He playfully nipped her ear then took to wing again. Like yesterday he flew but a short distance away, playfully looping around in the air. He climbed high, singing a joyous song then dove for the ground in front of the three. Just when it seemed he'd crash into the ground he transformed back to his normal form.

Ginny jumped up and hugged Harry. He hugged her back and gave her a deep kiss on the lips while Ron and Hermione sat there, dumbstruck. Hermione was the first one to break their silence.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! You…You… You're an animagus!"

Harry nodded and grinned. With his arm still holding Ginny tight, he pulled Hermione up and gave her a one armed hug. "Its so good to see you sis," he said shyly. Hermione squealed and flung her arms around him, hugging him closely

"I've missed you brother mine!"

"Well Ron? Are you just going to sit there, looking like a great big git catching flies with your mouth, or are you going to stand up and say hi to your best mate?" Harry grinned.

Ron looked at Harry holding Ginny and growled, "Oi Potter get yer hands off my little sister!"

Ginny frowned and stepped away from Harry. Putting her hands on her hips, she stalked towards Ron and started shouting.

"RONALD BELIOUS WEASELY! DON'T YOU DARE INTERFERE! I'M OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW WHOM I WANT TO DATE AND NO ONE, NOT YOU, NOT EVEN MUM IS GOING TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT. IF THAT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, I'LL SHOW YOU MY NEW IMPROVED MEGA BAT BOGEY HEX!"

Ron winced at the threat of an improved bat bogey hex.

Harry touched Ginny on the arm and she stepped back, scowling at Ron darkly. "Look Ron, you know me. I'd never do anything to hurt Ginny. Your family is worth too much to me to risk it by hurting Ginny. But I care very deeply for her. Besides, at least with me you know that she's in good hands. Imagine where she'd be if she were dating Dean?"

Ron thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Ok, but if you hurt her, I'll beat your sorry arse to death with your own broom!"

Harry nodded in agreement and grinned "Ok Ron, but I'll make the same promise back to you in regard to 'Mione. You hurt her, and I'll use you to mop the great hall."

"What? Hermione is my friend! We're not that way!"

Hermione suddenly ducked her head, but not before Harry had seen the hurt in her eyes. Nudging Ginny, Harry winked at her, and then said, "Are you absolutely positive about that Ron?"

"Yes! So stop bugging me about it!"

"So you wouldn't mind in the least if I walked over to 'Mione and snogged her until her toes curled?" Harry took a step towards Hermione and winked at her. For Hermione's part, she was totally speechless and at a loss what to do. Her feet seemed riveted to the ground.

"Why should I care if you snog Hermione?"

"Ok Ron, on the count of three…"

"One!" Harry took a step towards Hermione.

"Two!" He grabbed her with both arms and pulled her to him.

Ron sputtered and yelled, "Oi Potter, you leave her alone, you git!"

"THREE! I'm going to snog her now Ron, watch!"

Hermione stiffened in his arms as he bent her backwards. Before he could reach her lips, Ron grabbed his arm and jerked him way, then reached out and caught Hermione's hand to steady her as she stumbled and almost fell.

Ron yelled "Ok Ok! I fancy Hermione!"

Harry sauntered away, saying, "He's all yours now, sis."

Hermione was blushing from her head to her toes. Shyly she reached out to take Ron's other hand and mouthed a thank you to Harry.

"Ok, let's get down to business here. I have a lot of ground to cover before I have to get back to the Dursley's."

He started with his mum's letter and let them read it. Both Ron and Hermione were amazed and angered by what they read in that letter. Harry then gave Ginny the Marauders Manual to start working all three on wandless magic and animagus training, he had left the manual in activated mode. He went into the prophecy and what it really meant. Hermione and Ginny cried at that point, Ginny clutching him and Hermione weeping on Ron's shoulder. Ron wrapped an arm around Hermione and gave Harry a small grin. Harry just looked at Ron and nodded back.

Several hours later, Harry was summing up all his plans. "So that's basically it. I want to reorganize the DA around the Muggle way of fighting wars. Each of us is going to have a specific task that we need accomplished. 'Mione, you're on research and intelligence. You have the list of spells I want to either find or develop. Get Luna and Ginny to help you with that, they're smart. Ron, you're tactics and disinformation. It's up to you to develop our plans, and to help train the teams. Gin, you're going to act as my go between with everyone. Anytime anyone needs something from another group, see Ginny. She'll also help in developing offensive spells. Having seen her bat bogey hex, I'm almost afraid to see what she'll think up. Neville, with his knowledge in herbology, will come in handy in healing."

Harry sat back down. He never even noticed he had been pacing. Ginny wormed her way into his arms and looked up at him fearfully. "Don't worry Gin, with you guys helping, we can't lose. Besides, as long as I have you, I have every reason in the world to live. Before yesterday, you could have killed me and I wouldn't have cared one whit. Now I have a reason to want to get this over with." She smiled up at Harry and he bent down and kissed her softly. Ron smirked at the two of them until Hermione grabbed Ron and kissed him deeply.

"Ginny, 'Mione, I expect you two to get a hold of Neville and Luna to explain what's going on. I'll come back here every other day at six pm for a couple hours to help you all train in wandless magic and animagus training. Ginny will hold onto to the Marauders Manual, borrow it to read if you want, but make sure you give it back to her each night. Oh Ron, I'm planning on dropping Quidditch this year. Officially it will be because I want to concentrate on my classes; unofficially it's because of our plans. I want to warn everyone, secrecy is critical. Not just to keep Voldemort from finding out, but also to keep our illustrious headmaster from interfering. Remus and Tonks are with us, so if anyone needs anything, let them know. I'll pay for any books or material that's needed."

Hermione asked a few questions, then checked her notes which she had started taking very early in the conversation. Ron looked over her notes as well.

Harry stood up, stretched, and then said, "I wish I could stay longer, but it's getting late. Walk with me for a bit, Gin?" Harry looked down at her, offering her his hand.

They walked away from Ron and Hermione towards the darkening woods. Once out of sight, they embraced, kissing deeply. Harry then kissed her on the cheek and whispered; "I'll see you in two days, sweet Gin".

Stepping back from her, he transformed into Wings, circled once, singing a comforting song and flame traveled back to Privet Drive. Ginny sighed, feeling an aching emptiness now that he had left. She walked back to the others.

Ron and Hermione were sitting quietly holding hands and talking. Ginny looked at the other two and her expression turned steely. Ron echoed her expression and Hermione looked determined. The three walked back to the Burrow.

The DA was going to war and Dumbledore could stuff it if he didn't like it.

Vernon's Parting Farewell…

The month of August breezed by. Harry continued to work for Jack, and return to the Burrow every two days. On Jack's advice he had Remus pick up a number of books for Ron to study. He met with Remus and Tonks every Sunday. During one such meeting, he had discovered that Sirius had left him a considerable sum of money, and Grimmald Place in his will. Harry didn't want anything to do with it until Remus said, if he didn't want it, the manor would go to Bellatrix Lestrange or Narcissa Malfoy. That was enough to shut Harry up; he'd be damned before he'd let them get a hold of anything from Sirius.

Ron, Luna, Neville, Ginny and Hermione continued practicing wandless magic. Surprisingly, Ginny and Luna seemed to pick it up fairly quickly. Ron and Neville weren't quite as adept with it and Hermione, much to her annoyance just couldn't seem to make the leap of faith needed. None of them were capable of doing it at levels that Harry could, but they were progressing even better than Harry had expected. None were ready yet for an animagus transformation.

Just two days before Harry was due to return to Hogwarts, he was coming out of his room when he bumped into Uncle Vernon.

"BOY!"

Vernon swung his fist catching Harry by surprise. Vernon connected with Harry's head and Harry's eyes rolled in his sockets. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Vernon grabbed Harry by the hair and dragged him into his room. Petunia in the kitchen could hear the sounds coming from the upstairs bedroom; she smiled as she continued to prepare the family dinner. Harry woke up two days later, his sides felt like they were on fire. The clock calendar on his table told him he had about two hours to get dressed and get to Kings Crossing.

Casting a numbing charm on himself, he staggered out to the bathroom and took a quick shower. One look in the mirror and he knew he'd have to cast a glamour or he'd frighten his friends. After performing the spell, he hobbled back into the bedroom, shrunk his trunk so it would fit in his pocket, opened Hedwig's cage and told her to go to Hogwarts. With the empty cage now in another pocket, Harry snuck from the house, hoping no one would notice him. Outside he lifted his wand to signal for the Knight Bus.

The trip to Kings Crossing was painful, but brief. He seemed to be having problems catching his breath and to make matters worse he was now running a fever. Harry entered platform 9 ¾ with 20 minutes to spare. He looked around blearily; suddenly an angel appeared at his side. Ginny. He carefully hugged her, biting his cheek to keep from moaning from the pain. Ginny pulled back and looked at him curiously.

"Harry are you ok?"

"Yeah… just… tired."

Harry mustered his strength. He had one more task before he could board the train. With Ginny dragging him forward, he walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasely. Catching all the air he could manage into his lungs he blurted out "Can I have permission to date Ginny, Mrs. and Mr. Weasely?"

Mrs. Weasely squealed in delight and enveloped Harry in a bone-crushing hug, "Of course you can love! Oh, I'm so happy for both of you!" Harry winced and moaned; the sounds muffled by her shoulder. In one single hug more than a dozen bone fragments from a shattered rib pierced Harry's lung. It was a nightmare! Harry kept casting numbing charms and pain relieving spells on himself as Ginny dragged him onto the train.

Harry sat down in the compartment Ginny and he had entered and he tried sleeping. Neville and Luna arrived a few minutes later. Not long after, Hermione and Ron entered having completed their prefect duties. Ginny warned them that Harry was trying to catch a nap. The five friends talked quietly for a while. They didn't understand what was up with Harry, but if he needed his sleep they'd let him sleep. They were about half way to Hogwarts when they had an expected visitor.

Suddenly a loud voice sneered from the doorway.

"Well if it isn't Potty and his merry band of Weaselettes, cowards, nuts and mudbloods!"

"Sod off Malfoy," yelled Ron.

Harry, barely conscious, ignored Malfoy.

Malfoy sneered, "What's the matter Potty, you going to let a poor weasel fight your battles for you? I knew you were nothing but a filthy coward!"

Ginny whipped out her wand pointing within inches of Malfoy's face. He went cross-eyed trying to focus on the tip of the wand. "One more word from you Malfoy and you'll think my Bat Bogey hex was a mild holiday prank!"

Malfoy paled and backed away from the room and, motioning for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him, they left.

Ginny sat back down, and then turned to Harry expecting him to be waking up. He wasn't moving. She pulled on Harry's shoulder to turn him away from the window. It was at that point she noticed the blood dribbling down his chin. Harry's glamour collapsed and vanished. As he pitched forward, Ron and Neville leapt forward to catch him before he could hit the floor. Gently they turned him over. His face was a mass of bruises; both lenses of his glasses were shattered. Harry opened one eye and tried to smile at Ginny then his eyes rolled upwards and darkness took him.

Ginny screamed, "HARRY!"

Hermione dashed from the room. Suddenly there was a sound of cloth swishing and an invisibility cloak dropped to the floor revealing Tonks. "Oh Merlin Harry, what happened to you?" She knelt by his side.

Neville was the big surprise. He pushed Ron out of the way and felt for Harry's pulse. His eyes widened and he whipped out his new wand. "Suspensor Vitalus," he said and the wand glowed a bright blue, the light extended to Harry, enveloping him and half way up Neville's arm. "He needs a healer Auror Tonks! I can hold the spell for a while, but without a healer… I just don't know."

Tonks nodded and took off for the driver's cabin. Hermione returned to the room with a first add kit which Neville had Ron root through for any blood replenishing potions. There weren't any potions in the kit.

Tonks returned to the cabin a few minutes later. "We'll be arriving in Hogsmeade in 10 minutes." They all noticed the train speed seemed to suddenly jump tremendously.

Beads of perspiration started to form on Neville's face. Luna reached over and rubbed his back gently. "You all right, Nev?" she asked.

Neville nodded. "I'm ok for now, but this takes a lot out of you. The charm slows down his life processes and pulls energy from me to keep him going. Ron loosen his tie and open his shirt, it will help with his breathing."

Tonks' eyes widened as the two-day-old handprints became visible on Harry's neck. "That wasn't done by magic."

Ginny looked up at Tonks and spat "The Dursley's! Harry told me that they used to beat him when he was growing up. I just thought he meant the odd spanking we all get as we grow up."

Tonks looked at Ginny, her eyes narrowing, outwardly calm, except for her hair rapidly cycling through every possible, and quite a few impossible, colors.

"Hang on Harry, helps coming," she muttered.

AN: I'll start by thanking people for their kind reviews. This is my first attempt at a fan fic and it's a collaborative effort between myself and wife.

Now to address a few minor points. Jack Parsons is a squib, not a muggle. Minor difference I know, but it was important to the plot line to make him one. Jack will be running around in the background of this story as a minor character. He's not turning Harry into some sort of English version of Jackie Chan, but he is educating him. Jack's role is, however, important and I intend to write him a much larger role as we get into the 7th year.

Harry's powers. This will NOT be yet another super Harry. Harry will be strong, probably stronger than anyone before, but think of his strength more as a power level than super powers. Its like comparing a D cell battery to a nuclear power plant. Both provide electricity, the difference is in degree.

The scene with Harry threatening to kiss Hermione was something I read in another fic which I borrowed. Its a great idea and its necessary for them to be together. My thanks to that other author for that idea.