Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter World JK Rowling has created. I only own the plot and OC's.

A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction and I hope you enjoy it. Be patient, I don't know how often I will review but I hope at least once a week if not more. I don't think my first chapter is the greatest, but they get better from here on out. Maybe they'll get longer, too! Please Review as it is what keeps the ideas and updates coming!

Chapter 1

The house at number four, Privet Drive was quiet, too quiet for the likes of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The Order of the Phoenix members who work in unseen four-hour shifts guarding the house's famous occupant had not seen or heard anything coming from house for three days. His five young friends had last received letters from him on July 23. Today was the 26th. Dumbledore had tried to leave Harry alone to deal with his grief, but he still had insisted on hearing from him at least every three days.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry rubbed his tired eyes while pondering what to do. Harry had demolished half of his various belongings in June after his godfather, Sirius Black, had died in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic trying to save him. The ironic thing was, Dumbledore mused, Harry had been trying to save Sirius from Voldemort, the dark wizard of the time.

Voldemort had killed Harry's parents when he was just a baby and had tried to kill Harry, too. He didn't succeed, and the curse had rebounded upon him, sending him into a half-existence. Since then he had tried to kill Harry many times and would keep trying until the prophecy made about the two had been fulfilled. Dumbledore had revealed the prophecy's contents to Harry that night in June, after Voldemort had lured Harry to the DoM under the pretense that he had Sirius there and was torturing him. It was just a vision that Voldemort had sent Harry, and yet it ended up with five students of Hogwarts trying to rescue someone who didn't need rescuing. One good thing that happened was that Voldemort still didn't know the contents of the prophecy and couldn't find out, now that the recording in the DoM was destroyed. Harry would have to start Occlumency again, to block Voldemort from entering his mind and finding valuable information about the prophecy and the Order of the Phoenix, the group who was fighting Voldemort and his follower's, the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore got up from his desk, finally making a decision. He went over to the beautiful, golden-red phoenix on the perch in the corner and said, "I think it's time to pay a visit to Harry. But first a visit to London is in order. I think we must create a friendship between two enemies." And with that, Dumbledore grabbed the Phoenix's tail feathers and disappeared in flash of fire.

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A tall, scrawny boy of 15 lay on his bed staring at the ceiling several feet above him. "Sirius," he croaked, his voice raspy from crying, "I'm so sorry, if only Snape had taught me Occlumency, and I had listened to him, and Dumbledore would have told me what was going on, you would still be alive!" He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as tears leaked out the corners. Suddenly he slammed his fist into the wall, filling his arm with pain and causing the snowy owl in the cage by the window to hoot in alarm. "NOOOOOOO!" he shouted out to the empty room.

"Boy!" Shut your filthy, ungrateful mouth and quit your blubbering! And shut that ruddy owl of yours up, or it's leaving!"

Harry James Potter opened his eyes at the sound of his Uncle Vernon. He went to the door of his cousin Dudley's "second bedroom" and yelled back, "What are you going to do about it?"

Now that Voldemort was back, and the Ministry of Magic had finally realized it, all students at Hogwarts 4th year and up could do magic all the time. For this Harry was grateful to the Ministry, though he suspected his headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had a lot to do with it.

"We can do magic outside of school now, and we have three fully trained wizards watching the house at all times! So you better stop messing with me, remember when I got off the train!" And with that, Harry slammed the door to his room shut and collapsed back on his bed. After the school year had ended and Harry got off the train home, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Arthur Weasley, and Remus Lupin had confronted Uncle Vernon about being nice to him and not abusing him. It had clearly had an effect up until now. The past two days Uncle Vernon had been extremely mean and rude to him. He was always that way, but lately it had gotten worse. Aunt Petunia seemed to try to be nice to him, and his cousin Dudley just ignored him altogether which was fine with Harry.

Downstairs, Uncle Vernon was shaking with rage. He had had enough. He couldn't believe they had the nerve to guard their house, and the boy could do magic now. What would the neighbors think if they saw weird people standing in the garden? "Petunia! Dudley! Pack some things now, we are leaving!" He roared to. He grabbed some clothes and valuables, and ran to the shiny Mercedes in the garage. "Get in!" he hissed to his wife and porky son.

Uncle Vernon ran back inside and shouted up the stairs to his nephew, "Boy, don't you touch, break, or eat anything in this house. We are going out!"

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That was Sunday, and today was Wednesday, and Harry had only left his room to use the bathroom, shower, and get something to eat. The Dursley's hadn't come back and Harry doubted they would anytime soon. He didn't care if the Order was worried about him, he didn't care about himself anymore. Harry never did anything except think about Sirius and the prophecy. Even his friends' letters didn't ease his mind much. He was still getting owls almost everyday from them, but had last sent one back to them on Sunday, the day the Dursley's left.

After getting a snack from the fridge in the kitchen, Harry climbed back onto his bed and sighed. What did his friends know anyway? Nothing. Take Hermione's letter for instance. Harry went to his dresser and got the latest letters from his friends.

Dear Harry,

Hello Harry! How are you? Ron, Ginny and I are doing find here at you know where. We're still cleaning and make the place habitable for wizards and witches. We are also redoing the rooms. Nothing has happened as of yet, and I expect you'll be able to leave your relatives soon, Dumbledore hinted you might. We can't wait to see you, and show you everything we've done. We also have some 'personal' things to discuss and a surprise!

Harry, don't be too hard on yourself. We're here for you if you need someone to talk to and we know how you're feeling. Sirius' death wasn't your fault. I also wanted to tell you how glad I am that we were at the DoM with you. Hope you are keeping up with homework, I, naturally, have finished all mine. Keep your fingers crossed, we get our O.W.L. results back soon!

With love,

Hermione

Typical Hermione Granger to say he was expected to go back to Headquarters soon. She'd been saying that at least once a week since the second week of break. 'And then to say she knows how I feel, me, Harry Potter, about MY godfather and his death. She had no connection to Sirius except as my friend.' Harry thought angrily.

One thing that she had said, Harry hadn't been thinking about. His Ordinary Wizarding Levels results were due to come soon. Harry was hoping for high results as he wanted to become an auror. He needed an Outstanding in Potions to get into the N.E.W.T. (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) class with Professor Snape. Harry couldn't believe he was willing to take another class with that man. He despised Harry. Snape constantly took points off him in class, put him in detention, and gave him failing grades for potions that were better than many of the Slytherins. Snape was Head of Slytherin House and favored his students over the other houses. Harry also needed an Exceeds Expectations in Transfiguration and a good grade in Charms.

Harry made himself stop thinking about his results because they weren't here yet and it was no use dwelling over something he had no control over. He turned to his best friend Ron Weasley's letter.

Harry mate,

How are you? We are having fun here and have a big surprise that I think you'll like when you get here. Can't tell you much more about what's going on, it's pretty hectic here though. Did you hear about the Chudley Canons? They've won four straight and are second in the division! I can't wait to play Quidditch again this year. We should have an awesome team. Say, mate, if you ever need to talk about the DoM or anything just give a hoot. Ha-ha hoot...! Too bad the prophecy was smashed, we could be figuring out its meaning; now we'll never know! Talk to you soon.

Your Friend,

Ron Weasley

Ron, of course, always brought up Quidditch in his letters. But Harry was surprised by the news that the Chudley Canons were second in the league. Usually they were last. This must be making Ron happy. But how could he bring up the school Quidditch team up to Harry? Ron knew he had a lifetime ban. Umbridge gave it to him for fighting with Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Seeker and Harry's archenemy. Quidditch had been the thing Harry most looked forward to about going back to school.

One thing Harry hadn't told his friends about was the prophecy made about himself and Voldemort.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

The recording of the prophecy was destroyed during the battle in the Department of Mysteries. That his friends knew. What they didn't know was that Dumbledore knew what it said. That night after the fiasco at the ministry and Sirius' death, Dumbledore told Harry what he had been meaning to tell him for a long time.

Harry had to be killed by or kill Voldemort. Neither could live, while the other survived. He didn't think he could stand to let his friends know of the terrible burden he had to bear.

'Stop thinking about it!' Harry ordered himself angrily. 'Sirius just died and the prophecy is all you can think about!'

Harry turned to Neville and Luna's letters. Neville had also been born to parents who had thrice defied the Dark Lord and he was also born in the end of July. Dumbledore told Harry that it was indeed him, and not Neville who had to defeat Voldemort because Voldemort had marked him when he was a baby.

Neville and Luna had become very close friends since the DoM and had since gotten together. Mostly Neville told Harry about his grandmother and Luna, or asked him whether he had gotten his homework done yet. Technically, they didn't have to do the homework until they got their O.W.L. results back and chose what classes they would be taking the following year. Otherwise they would do homework for classes they weren't taking. Both Hermione and Neville were going to do it all anyway. Harry had only done the subjects he thought he would be taking.

Luna Lovegood's letters told of her vacation to catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Luna was different like that but had become a faithful friend to the Gryffindor's the previous year. At least Neville and Luna weren't pitying Harry the whole time in their letters, and telling him not to be too hard on himself.

Harry turned to his last letter. It was from Ginny Weasley, Ron's pretty younger sister who was a year below the three friends.

Dear Harry,

How are you, Harry? I hope your aunt and uncle are treating you all right. If anyone deserves a peaceful and quiet vacation, it's you. I just wanted to tell you that Sirius was a good man and would have done anything to be with you. He wouldn't want you feeling guilty about what happened or feeling sad for too long. Some grief is OK Harry, but you need to know where to make the line and start celebrating his life. I know the Order is having a Memorial Celebration in Sirius' honor later in the summer when you feel like you are ready. Just keep that in mind.

You have a job to do, Harry, because there must be some reason Voldemort keeps coming after you. You have survived where so many others have failed. I think you are our last hope and I BELIEVE in you. If you ever need someone to listen to you, or if you need help with anything, I'm here for you. I'm not just Ron's little sister anymore and have a personality of my own, so if you're having trouble with Ron, come to me. Remember, I've been possessed before, too. Dumbledore told us all what happened in the Atrium when you went after Lestrange. We are all OK here, and are hoping for your quick arrival, but don't hurry yourself. Owl me back as soon as you can, I need to hear from you.

With love,

Ginevra Weasley

It was to this last letter that Harry paid the most attention to. He had read it and reread it about 6 times since he had received it and was awed by Ginny's seemingly unwavering belief in him. She had also guessed close to what the prophecy had said and as far as he knew only Dumbledore and himself knew what it said. His friends all thought that the prophecy was destroyed forever during the battle in the DoM.

At the end of school, Harry had begun to think of Ginny more as a friend, and someone he could count on, then just as Ron's little sister who always tagged along. She had stood by him while going to the DoM and had understood why he had needed to check that Sirius was home as badly as he did.

Harry's thoughts turned to Ginny's red hair and gorgeous green eyes, and the little smile she would get on her face when someone told a joke, or she pranked someone. She was a lot like Fred and George, her two older prankster-playing brothers. She was not strict like Percy, or shy and protective as Ron, but she would say what was on her mind and defended her family and friends.

Harry jumped and shook his head as he caught himself daydreaming about Ginny. 'She's going out with Dean, and hasn't liked me since second year. I've waited too long, I don't have a chance.' Harry thought to himself.

He turned and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 9:30 already and Harry had spent three hours thinking about the letters and Ginny. After grabbing something to eat from the fridge, and showering, Harry turned out the lights and fell asleep. His last conscious thought, before passing into the world of dreams, was asking himself why Ginny had said she needed to hear from him. Harry told himself groggily he would write the next morning.

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! Also to everyone who checks out this story but doesn't keep reading: Once you get past the fifth chapter or so I think it gets much better. Once they get back to school Snape is much more in character. I've had several people review and say that there is no way Harry would move in with Snape. WELL HE DOESN'T. If you keep reading you will see he actually stays at Hogwarts for the last part of the summer. Dunno if this has convinced you at all to keep reading…but enjoy anyways!