Prologue
In an ordinary house on an ordinary street in an ordinary town lived a boy who was not so ordinary. He was a wizard and his name was Harry Potter. Yes, that Harry Potter. You will have heard the story of course, how the dark wizard Voldemort rose to power, causing death and destruction, striking fear in the hearts of decent witches and wizards everywhere. And you will have heard how sixteen years ago, it was prophesied that a boy would be born, the same Harry Potter, who would possess the power to vanquish Voldemort. And how Voldemort, seeking to prevent this prophecy from coming to pass, attacked the Potters in their own home. But Harry's mother died to save her infant son, covering him with a protective charm so strong that Voldemort's curse reflected off the boy and back onto him, leaving him weak, powerless, and all but dead, while little Harry was healthy and whole, with only a scar to show he'd ever been attacked.
And with that failed assault, Voldemort's reign of terror was brought to an end and Harry was sent to his nonmagical, ordinary aunt and uncle, who raised him as a nonmagical, ordinary boy. It wasn't until his eleventh birthday that he learned the truth of who he was, and what he was and that fall he embarked on a new life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had spent five years at the school, all the while learning things about himself he never knew, growing in knowledge and power. And along the way he had made friends, and lost them, and fought against Voldemort in various guises before witnessing his ultimate return to his previous body.
It was now summer after a particularly dark year, a year that saw the death of his godfather, Sirius Black, and the revelation of a hidden prophecy that would forever change his destiny.
And this is where we begin our tale.
A/N: Yes, it's yet another author trying to squeeze in their 6th year story before HBP comes out. In my defense, though, I have actually been working on this story since OOTP came out and I had been holding on actually publishing it until it was completed as I've made the mistake of posting fics that weren't finished in the past (another Genre – American soap opera) and it's very easy to write yourself into a corner doing that. Plus my interest in that fandom had waned (stupid, crappy head writers ruining my show) and so a couple of my stories remain unfinished. I didn't want to do that here. However, the release date of HBP is creeping ever nearer and I realized that I'd better post what I have now while people will still care. This is actually a two-parter covering both 6th and 7th years. This story follows canon thru 5th year but any information that JKR has released that is not in the books is not necessarily adhered to. I am also trying as much as is possible to write in a style reminiscent of Rowling's, but I won't kid myself.
One more thing and I will release you from this incredibly long and frightfully dull AN. I've been an HP fan for 2 years and since then I have read a LOT of fanfic. And, as stated above, I have written several stories in another fandom. One thing that I have learned is that no matter how wonderfully original you think your idea may be, chances are someone else has already done it, and done it better. I've had ideas that were so amazing and original that I was going, "I am a genius!", only to see them used so many times, they've become clichéd. I've removed some of the worst offenses but many of these "oh so original" ideas remain. Oh well. I've always believed that it's not how original the idea, it's how well it's written.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!