I am about to evoke the power of the disclaimer. This will only be done once, so pay attention. Anything ever seen here that is from the HP books was created by JK Rowling. (Duh)

It has been forseen.

It is written in hard stone.

The Prophesy has been made.

The Mentor has fallen. He will return in unknown shape.

The Chosen One stands alone.

And now it is time for his army to join him.

Four of the Dark Lord's Horcrux remain.

And the Mentor's Spirit lies within the heart of the Chosen One.

The Final Battle must come. And One will remain.

Harry Potter woke with a start. The dreams that plagued him were coming again. He slipped on his glasses and crept downstairs. He did not wish to wake anyone, as the mood around the house was very tense of late. He simply needed a drink of water to clear his head. His head was throbbing, but for the first time in his life, it had nothing to do with his scar. The peculiar lightning-shaped scar that marked him as the Chosen One, The Boy Who Lived. The one who could defeat Voldemort. Harry's dreams were not occupied, surprisingly, by the dark lord. Nor were they the horrifying images of Dumbledore's death at the hands of the traitorous Snape. Harry even made a journal to track the dreams.

"Dumbledore bathed in blinding white light. Then slowly, he transforms into a boy of 16? 17? Boy has blond hair and is tall. Says something I can't understand, and then the light becomes too bright to see anything, and then I wake up."

Harry went for another glass of water, downing it in a flash, feeling like he was burning up. "Harry?" A small and uncertain voice floated from the stairs.

"I'm fine Ginny. Go back to bed."

Staying at the Burrow had been torture for Harry, and even though he knew he would never forgive himself for missing Bill and Fleur's wedding, he never counted on Ginny trying to break his resolutions. Harry didn't count on having her face crop up in his mind every second of the day, to be with her from sunrise till sundown in busy preparation for the big day. He didn't count on being so hopelessly in love with Ginny Weasley. What also made his path so hard was the fact that Ron and Hermione, who, despite their constant bickering, were the foundation of Harry's strength, would also be left behind when he embarked on his last adventure.

"Harry, you can talk to me. Harry..." Harry had already started for his room with Ron upstairs ,but Ginny grabbed his arm. "You can't keep running away from this, Harry. Sooner or later you're going to have to realize that you can't shake me off." Harry did just that, hating himself for it, but continued up the stairs.

"Harry," whispered Ginny, tears welling up in her eyes, "You don't have to go it alone." Harry sighed, and turned around, eyes to the floor, (he couldn't bear to look into her eyes,) and said "Yeah Gin, yeah I do." With that, Ginny bit her lip and passed him up the stairs, and Harry had never felt more cold or miserable.

When he got to Fred and George's room, Harry sat on the bed, feeling and awful sensation of numbness. He waited for the day to come, so he could purge his mind of the painful fact Dumbledore was gone, he couldn't be with Ginny, and that he had the seemingly impossible task of destroying Voldemort and his four Horcrux.

The Dursleys had been quite overjoyed to hear that he would be burdening their home for just one last time, a joy that was bolstered when Harry informed them that he was leaving early to be around for Bill and Fleur's wedding.

"Oh Vernon!" Aunt Petunia had cried loudly, "What do you want to do with that room once the boy's gone?" Vernon considered for a moment, and then shot a nasty look at Harry.

"I expect that the room is unsafe by now, who knows what sort of things that boy cooked up in there?"

Now Harry was spending his last summer at the Weasleys, secretly sorrowful at the fact that this could very well be his last time surrounded by the people he loved. During a break after de-gnoming the garden after what had seemed the thousandth time, he vented to a grime covered Ron.

"I know everyone's going to think I'm crazy for deciding not to go back to Hogwarts, but they didn't hear what Dumbledore told me!"

"Well, you don't really tell anyone anything about it mate. Look, I already think you're mental about all this. Why can't you tell me and Hermione what you're planning?"

"Cause you'd try and stop me. Anyways, don't you two have more important things to worry about? Harry smirked at Ron's sheepish expression. "Have you two found a way to snog without getting caught by Fred and George?"

"Shut up, you."

"Then you can shut it about my mysteriousagenda." Said Harry sarcastically.

Harry had repeatedly caught the two groping each other in various rooms around the house, (most recently in the broom shed,) and to Harry's surprise, instead of feeling shut out by the other two, he only became slightly amused when he saw the two of them. The truth is that years of passionate arguments and perpetual bickering had finally culminated into a very involved romance, and Harry was neither shocked or unprepared.

The two friends trudged up towards the Burrow, Ron steering the conversation away from him and Hermione. Harry was painfully aware of his dirt covered state as Ginny passed them on their way inside, staring determinedly at the floor. Ron surveyed the two of them with some dismay, and opened his mouth, ready to offer his opinion that the two should just work out their problem, but became silent at Harry's face. Harry thought it a bit rich that Ron, never known for his competence when it came to maintaining his relationships, was suddenly giving him tips for his love life. He also was surprised to see Ron determined to get them back together, considering that he had spent most of his time 'protecting' his baby sister. Wait. He probably thinks that I won't leave if I'm with Ginny, Thought Harry. Well, that's why I ended it in the first place Ron. Sorry to disappoint you.

Harry jumped in the shower, eager to rid himself of the dirt that was coating his body. Despite the fact that he had broken up with Ginny, he was still determined to look his best when he was in her presence. Deep in the folds of his mind lived a dream where he could come back to her after he had somehow defeated the most evil wizard the world had known. He hadn't worked out just how to do that part yet. But even more important, the burning desire that boiled deep in Harry's chest, the face that had occupied several sleepless nights since leaving Hogwarts, was that of Severus Snape. In Harry's mind, Snape's face was frozen in a sneer, taunting him for his inability to save Dumbledore. I was right about him ever since I knew him... Why did Dumbledore trust him?

Harry stepped out of the shower, still pondering these troubling thoughts, when the bathroom door opened to reveal Ginny. "Aggh, sorry Harry!" Screamed Ginny as she slammed the door. For a second, Harry almost imagined that Ginny paused to stare at his body. Then, looking at his skinny pale body in the mirror, Harry doubted it. But at least I've got some muscle definition. Harry spent several minutes surveying his body from different angles, when he heard a knock on the door. Hermione's voice could be heard behind the door. "Harry, when you're done posing, we're having dinner." Scowling, Harry made for Fred and Georges room when he was certain that no one was in the hall. He quickly slipped into some jeans and a red t-shirt, and hurried down the stairs.

"Hermione, I was not posing, I was..." but exactly Harry was doing would go unexplained, because he stood in surprised silence. Before him where all of his closets friends, festive and waiting for him. "Surprise!"

Harry was stunned. He was sure that everyone, so busy with Bill and Fleur's wedding, they, like him, had forgotten about his birthday. He was touched that they had remembered. He was also surprised to see a table and parts of the floor covered in gifts. Lupin, reading the expression on Harry's face, said "Somehow, the Prophet got hold of your birthday, so you have many presents from your fan base."

"Don't worry," He added, " We had them checked out for any sort of Dark magic, but it seems that there wasn't a single Death Eater who wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Harry laughed like he thought he never would after losing Dumbledore. He began to catch up with the people who came while receiving presents thrust at him by Ron and Hermione. Harry had never received so many presents from people he didn't know. Doris Gladbury, of Little Trollton, sent Harry a gold-cast Sneak-o-Scope, and Hector Troyson of London sent him a check for 5000 galleons, urging him to use it in his quest to rid the world of Voldemort. Harry sat there, numb, growing more overwhelmed as the gifts became more extravagant. Vicktor Krum sent him the Snitch he caught at the Quidittch World Cup, but Harry expected that Krum wasn't too attached to it, seeing as he had lost the match anyways. His note also asked to give his regards to Hermione.

"Harry," said Fred, "Check out ours." Harry opened up a lavishly wrapped set of boxes. The first box revealed a set of reflective sunglasses that looked both expensive and hip.

"Put them on."

"They aren't X-ray or anything, are they?"

"Only if you want them to be."

Harry put them on, and it was clear that these shades were enchanted. Over everyone's head floated the word Friend, and Harry could only assume that if anyone here was a threat, they would bear the words Foe.

"It does Friend/Foe, See-Through, (don't get any ideas,) Illumination, and it can detect where magic has been used. We designed it ourselves." added Fred proudly.

Harry thanked them profusely, and moved onto the remaining two boxes. They revealed a very handsome black Dragon skin jacket that adjusted to it'd environment, meaning that it was cooler to wear the jacket in the middle of the summer than not. The other box revealed a stack of shares of Weasley Wizard Wheezes. Despite Harry's strongest protestations and Ron's indignation, the Twins would not take the gift back.

Ron got Harry a new set of red and gold Seeker gloves. Hermione got Harry a book called Easy to Learn Combat Spells. Tonks got Harry tickets to see the Weird Sisters in concert, and Fleur Delacour had glasses made for him by her cousin, who apparently was a famous wizarding wear designer in France. She also felt the need to buy him a potion that could apparently tame his hair, and she suggested (commanded,) that he use some for the wedding. Ginny gave him a set of removable tattoos, which included, to Harry's wistful amusement, a Hungarian Horntail. Finally, there was but one gift left. IT was a very shabby bag, small, and with no return address.

Harry, intrigued, dipped his hand into the bag, and with a gasp, pulled out the stolen Pendant Horcrux. Hermione and Ron, recognizing it for what it was, became unnerved. Harry reached into the bag again, and found a small note.

Happy Birthday Harry.

I'm sure you will appreciate my gift.

My apologies for beating you to this.

I would look into the Island of Bannat for the next Horcrux.

I hope that we may meet soon.

Sincerely, R.A.B