Chapter 1: It Begins

It was a hot day in Surrey, England. Mostly every person who wasn't working was out enjoying the wonderful weather. One exception happens to be a raven black haired teenager with startling green eyes and a lighting bolt scar on his far head. There were many things that this boy, no man, did that many people hadn't even heard of. And most people were afraid of hearing.

The scariest thing of all this man has seen and learned, is that he is the only one alive who can vanquish Lord Voldemort. Muggles, non magic folk, had no idea who this was. Yet they have seen his handy work and that of his evil followers known as Death Eaters. The Dark Lord had caused so much pain and suffering that anyone who has heard of him flinch at the name and pail under his presence. All except two.

Harry James Potter sat on his bed in Number Four Privet Drive. He was reflected on everything that had happened in his life. Truth be told, he was having the best time he's ever had at his Aunt Petunia's and Uncle Vernon's house. They seemed very content to leave him be. The reason for that could be the fact that Harry was receiving special training from Mad Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks. The four of them had been at it for about two months now; they started training around six in the morning and ended around six at night. Plus Harry was spending all his remaining time studying.

He didn't study because he wanted to learn more, he studied to busy himself. Whenever he was given a moment to think his mind would wonder to Sirius Black, his late godfather. Though everyone denied it, except for 'Snivellus', Harry still felt partial guilt that the death was his fault. When it came down to it, he was tricked and caused the death of an innocent and brave man. Harry had started to keep a list of all the victims in this new war. Every single name he would remember, for it was his job to stop this for good and the ones or bought him more time deserved his thanks and recognition once this was all over. And it would be over.

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Don't go there, Harry forcefully reprimanded himself. Today was the day before his sixteenth birthday. He was given today and tomorrow off in honor of it. He had ended up boxing the better half of the day away with Dudley, who had become quite interested in helping Harry out after he was saved from the dementors.

Harry was doing so well in his studies that he was now able to take on all three mentors at the same time and hold his own. He had yet to win one of these matches but was able to hold them off for about an hour before the 'trainers' decided to call for help from other Order members and really turn the heat on. The last time this had happened, Harry had felt excitement to this challenge and was happy to take it on.

He had succeeded in taking out ten opponents and still had five to go when Albus Dumbledore himself arrived to help his side. A primal anger had filled Harry when he saw Dumbledore. He still was on the older man's side, but once Harry had realized how much Dumbledore had held out on him and treated him more like a tool than a person, Harry soon held a great dislike for the man.

Through his anger he had shot five stunners at the remaining Order members, one tried to dodge by jumping forward but was hit with a spell that sent him flying thirty feet backwards towards a hard landing. Two others had managed a protego shield, but the stunners went straight through them to hit the startled fighters. The last two were caught off guard by the way Harry Potter had somehow managed to make five stunners come out of his hand. It was then that Harry realized Dumbledore had managed to accio his wand when his surprise entrance came.

Harry than knew it was between him and the Headmaster. Without so much as a nod, Harry let instinct take over and started to throw every jinx, charm, and spell that he could think of. He added transfiguration to the onslaught and even conjured a sword to use for a more physical attack. Harry had registered that he was doing all this without a wand but didn't really mind, his wand after all didn't work against Voldemort.

What Dumbledore realized was that Harry had grown immensely in power and confidence. He was amazed at the boy's progress and to be honest slightly afraid of it. He also noticed that the sword in Harry's hand was supposed to be inside his office, Godric Gryffindor's sword.

His amazement cost him as he was forced into a corn of the yard. He tried to block and dodge as many spells as he could but they were continuing down at such an alarming rate that is was impossible to dodge them all. Recognizing this, he had started to forget about the pain from the curses and focus on the offensive. That was when he knew Harry still had much anger toward him for the life the Professor had decided to keep hidden and hide Harry from.

If he hadn't yet known that he would have once Harry surprised him by apperating right behind him and throwing a punch at Dumbledore. Harry followed the falling man down and grabbed his wand and Dumbledore's before the man hit the ground. Apperating back to his original position Harry finished adding ropes to every downed Order member, including Albus Dumbledore. "Do you yield?" Harry asked the downed group.

In response groans and moans were heard and Albus managed to get a, "Yes, Harry, we yield" out.

With a wave from his wand the ropes disappeared and the unconscious became conscious once again. Many sat disbelieving for a few moments before disapperating with a pop, presumably to Grimmuald Place to find a medic.

It was then that Harry let exhaustion claim him and he slumped back against the wall of Privet Drive. He definitely liked the fact that he could do magic and the area was protected from muggle eyes.

And that was how Harry had ended up today. Everyone felt confident in his ability and decided to make his schedule a little more free, and give him some more freedoms considering he could take on the majority of the Order and win. Dumbledore had a short talk with him when retrieving his wand and Harry had decided that today he would buy some good cloths.

And that was exactly the thing he did. He went to muggle London and bought everything that caught his eye and well as a few gifts for his friends. He had been getting letters from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny so much that Harry felt they deserved something in return. For their things Harry had walked to Diagon Alley in muggle cloths and a baseball cap. No one seemed to spare him a glance as he went about his business for the day. Happily, Harry noticed no Order member trailing him.

With these last few happy thoughts of his summer so far, Harry managed to fall asleep.

The next morning Harry awoke to the yelling of his name. He had just had a horrible dream of Sirius and Voldemort and already had an expelliarmus shot from his wandless hand before he became aware of his surroundings.

"Sorry, Ron, didn't mean to hurt you mate," Harry apologized after finding out who he had just set flying into the wall.

"It's okay, Harry. He's been a bit of a prat lately so I really should be thanking you," and with that said Harry found himself being hugged by a small girl with flaming red hair. Realizing who it was, Harry immediately put his arms around her and hugged her back. It was then that he noticed how pretty Ginny Weasely had become. She still appeared to be short but was no longer just a girl. She looked to an angle like him and when he felt a small kiss on his cheek Harry couldn't help but blush and smile like an idiot.

"What are you smiling at you great buffoon!" Ron practically yelled. Apparently he was still smarting.

"Well, mate, your sister is beautiful and I am happy to say that it feels great to have her in my arms. Plus she looks like my mother and you look like an idiot who just got shot into the wall. Its really funny if you look at how we ended up this way." Harry knew he was pushing his buttons, but teasing Ron was always fun.

"Now you listen to me. I don't want to hear anyone, even you, talk about Ginny like that!"

It was Ginny's turn to speak and she did so indeed, "Well, dear brother. If Harry can't compliment me like a gentlemen than I will be forced to torture you." She turned her head away from Ron and winked at Harry. "You know, Ron, Harry feels really muscular and I can feel an eight pack through his shirt. You should think about working out, then maybe you and Hermione will finally start noticing each other a little more. I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind helping you out."

"Ginny, if I didn't know better I would believe you were cheating on Dean by flirting with me. After all, if you wanted to see my muscles of steal, I'd be happy to show you," Harry said with a cheeky grin.

"Now who is flirting, Harry? Besides, I never liked Dean, I just said that to get Ron mad on the train." For some reason, Harry felt very happy hearing this news.

"So what brings you both here to my 'wonderful' place of residence?" Harry asked his two friends while disentangling himself from Ginny and leaning back against the wall while still on his bed. He was still pretty tired considered that dream had felt like hell and left him feeling like hell in the morning.

"You do know it's your birthday, right mate? I mean it only comes once a year. Oh yeah, Hermione wants me to wish you a Happy 16th. She had to go on a trip to France with her parents. We brought presents and cake and my family should arrive along with Remus, Tonks, and Mad Eye later. But you look horrible, Harry, and its only seven. Go back to sleep for a little. We already sent the Dursleys away for the day so I'll go and set up. Just be down by twelve. Coming, Ginny?" Ron seemed much more talkative lately, maybe a side effect of the brains.

"Actually, I'm still a bit tired myself. I think I'll take a nap too," that said Ron left presumably to set up the house. "Mind if I use you as a pillow, Harry?"

Without waiting for an answer she came next to him and let her head fall on his shoulder. Harry was taken aback a bit by the way the morning was turning out, but he soon found himself asleep once more.

He awoke from a rare peaceful slumber to find a weight at his side. There was the youngest Weasely and she was sleeping lightly with an arm draped across Harry. Laughing softly, Harry gently woke her and told her the time, 11:15. He still needed to get ready and pull himself together.

Thirty minutes later, Harry Potter walked out of the bathroom feeling like someone truly himself for the first time in his life. Using a few charms, Harry had transformed himself. He had pierced his ear and put a Griffin earing in it. He had always given himself a haircut that made his hair look less like a dog's and more like he was confident. It also showed his scar which he actually didn't mind people seeing anymore. He had always changed into a black pair of jeans and a muggle t-shirt. He reveled in the feeling of being just Harry for a moment then headed down stairs.

What met his eyes kept Harry staring for a long while. Everyone you could see, inside and outside, the area was decorated for his birthday. It was amazing and the amount of attention and care Ron appeared to have taken in setting everything up seemed to make Harry appreciate his friend all the more. It was then that Ginny noticed him downstairs and seeing his dumbfounded look asked what was wrong.

Still in a stupor, Harry replied without thinking, "It's just I've never really had a birthday party before. Not even gifts 'till I met your family. I can't believe I'm actually about to have a party."

Ginny seemed taken aback by his answer, especially the way he made it all seem like it wasn't any big deal. She then reminded herself of Harry's childhood and grabbed Harry's hand to lead him outside. Ron was sitting at a table out back eating the snacks set out when the two joined them. They started talking of trivial things, like Quiditch and even a muggle film Mr. Weasely had gotten a hold of.

Harry's newly bought watch chimed twelve when all of a sudden there were several distinct pops. Harry was immediately out of his seat and had a hand out read to send five stunners loose if needed it be. Seeing that the new arrivals were just the rest of the Weaselys, minus Percy, and his three trusted trainers, Harry lowered his hand and smiled his first true smile in a long time.

After being hugged and passed around Harry and company got into the swing of things. The WWN was playing in the background and conversations grew all throughout the yard. After about three hours of chatting and playing foolish pranks and games, Ginny managed to drag Harry out onto an open area to dance to the WWN. She claimed all her brothers stunk and promised to teach Harry. They were actually making some progress when Fred and George decided to sneak up on them and send a few curses their way.

What the twins hadn't noticed was that Harry knew they were there the whole time and at just the right moment, Harry grabbed Ginny and threw her in to the air. At the same time he had erected a shield to absorb the curses and sent to of his own at the twins, wandlessly. They hit and the twins turned into pink hamsters! That was when the adults all turned to watch Ginny fall fast and scream at the upcoming ground.

She was stopped by Harry catching her and continuing the dance like nothing at all had happened. Everyone started to laugh and then the twins were turned back with a flick of Harry's wrist.

The next order of business was presents. This year there was a lot to open. The twins had given him a prototype of all their "in progress" pranks as well as a few they had made just for him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasely had given him a jumper and some newly made mince pies. Charlie had given Harry a set of dragon battle robes, apparently they were the best known battle robes out there and Charlie figured he could use it. Bill had gotten him a book all about Egyptian magic and certain ways to detect and then disable some of the nastier tricks the Egyptians had.

Remus, Tonks, and Mad Eye had together given him a personal journal they had made with their favorite battles tricks. Remus had promised he had left a few surprises from the Marauders. Ron had given him a photo album of all their friends from over the years, starting at 2nd Year. Ron told him most of the pictures had come from Colin and made sure that Harry knew there were many pages left empty for the last two years and then some. It happened to be a joint gift from him and Hermione. Hagrid had sent a school owl with his regular rock cakes, but this time he added a little something extra.

Hagrid had called it a mobile mirror. It seemed to work just like a cell phone except you call someone who has a similar mirror and they can talk to you threw it. A pained expression passed over Harry as he recognized the object was just like the one Sirius had given him, with the exception being the noticeable size reduction. He quickly put a mask on his face but not before Remus, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasely caught it. The note that came with the owl also said that Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Remus would be able to talk to him by midnight. Only the person called would be able to hear you call their name yet after the connection is made, anyone can talk through the link.

The last gift was from Ginny. She gave him a small parcel that was lumpy. When he opened it, he found a lighting shaped gem hanging on a shining chain. "I was able to use some of the money Sirius left us to get that," she started to explain. "It's a talisman that's supposed to protect you from curses. It only blocks weaker ones, but if the person who gave the talisman put in their love and heart into making it, it supposedly will reduce the affect of any curse. Even the forgivables. Oh I almost forgot, that's a white gold chain it's on and will never rust or get dirty."

By the time she was finished, Ginny was blushing slightly but looked relieved when Harry gave her a quick hug said, "Thanks, Gin."