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Shadowed Rains: Yes, in true OOTP fashion, Harry is very angst-y. Thanks for reviewing, glad you like it.

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CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: Ever the faithful reviewer (that goes for a bunch of you too). Thanks, I'm glad you liked it and, yes, it was sad about the Weasleys but I really had to do it.

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Dnd4ever: I've never heard of the rule but thanks for the warning. I won't flame anyone or anything. If I don't like a review I just won't put it up here. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing (several of my fics I've noticed). Hope you enjoy this next chappie though it will surprise you.

A/N: Thank y'all for reviewing as it is the lifeblood of my writing (fanfics anyway). This next chapter is kind of transitional chapter (however long) so bare with me. I am going somewhere and the previous chapters aren't to be discounted. Anyway, on with the fic.

Harry jerked awake, his head pounding; the dream had been so vivid. He blinked and rubbed his hand over his face distractedly. He looked around, half expecting to see the lovely red and gold bedroom with walls bedecked with posters of the Chudley Cannons and the Weird Sisters from the vision or dream, whatever it was. To his dismay he saw the grubby surroundings of Dudley's second bedroom on Private Drive. With a pang it all swept over him. Dumbledore was dead; Sirius was dead. He had to get the horacruxes. The sadness that filled him was so complete that he couldn't even drum up any excitement over his last day at the Dursleys.

He glanced at the alarm clock shining ominously on his bedside table (a cardboard box). It read 6:00; deciding that more sleep would be impossible, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. His feet hit the floor with a dull thud and a very much older (emotionally atleast) Harry stood, stretching his aching muscles.

The Dursleys hadn't even bothered to pick him up that year. He had hitched a ride most of the way but had had to walk the rest. Throwing caution to the wind, he had cast a quick weightless charm on his trunk before leaving the station and gave Hedwig to Ron for safe keeping. If it hadn't been for some quick diversionary techniques on Ginny's part, Harry would have had to wait for the Ministry to get him to Private Drive. He needed the time to think so, part of him at least, thanked the Dursleys for their thoughtlessness.

The Dursleys showed absolutely no emotion when he knocked on the door around 7:00 the night before. They didn't even seem to register his presence which didn't bother Harry in the least. Before going to bed he had raided the refrigerator and had a bit of dinner in his room. He then packed up what little he had kept in the tiny room. He would soon be off again, this time taking the Knight Bus to the Burrow. It was funny but he began to feel oddly sentimental toward his "home". True, it had not housed the happiest of memories for him, but he had spent many a "blissful" year there without the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Carelessly throwing a jumper over his bare chest and shorts, Harry took the stairs two at a time, wanting some breakfast before the whale and its father appeared. He was surprised to find Aunt Petunia in the kitchen already. She was sitting at the scrubbed table, a mug of coffee nestled between her bony fingers. "Good Morning," she said in a hoarse whisper. Her eyes were bloodshot and she looked decidedly more rattled than Harry had ever remembered seeing her before.

"Good Morning," he returned cautiously. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I-I, you're going to leave aren't you." Harry nodded.

"But you knew that. I would have thought you would be happy-" Harry was cut off abruptly.

"I don't hate you, you know. I-I what's going on?" Harry was caught off guard. Was this a rare show of affection or her just trying to appease some guilt.

"Voldemort's back, D-d, you were informed last summer."

"And Dumbledore, he's taking care of it isn't he?" Harry felt his eyes begin to prickle painfully. He shook his head solemnly.

"We lost him at the end of last year." Harry responded haltingly.

"I'm sorry Harry, sorry for everything. I was scared, scared of you, scared of your world and scared I'd loose my family. You, I know you can defeat this guy. I was just, I don't know, somewhat jealous of Lily. She was much prettier than me, always was. She was kind and smart, all through school. Then she got her letter and part of me wished I'd have gotten one too. It was abnormal yes but Mother and Father thought it special. I did love her, deep down." Harry felt a tear slip down his cheek. Why was she saying this now? Why show some love now? He batted the tear away and nodded curtly.

"It's okay, I guess it's good to know…." Harry searched for the right words. She certainly wasn't saying anything entirely mushy. She seemed to think this was enough however as she returned his nod.

"Well, I'll get you some breakfast and then I guess you'll be off?" Harry nodded hesitantly and waited at the table. Petunia prepared an omelet, a very large omelet and some bacon. They shared an awkward hug before Harry went up the stairs to make sure he had everything. Something was stirring in him, it was unsettling but not an entirely unpleasant feeling. He had his aunt's faith, faith that he would defeat Voldemort and that was, well, nice.

She was nowhere to be found when he left and he thought that fitting. She was probably rousing her son and husband; they would always take for granted her unwavering affection and devotion. He held out his wand and a moment later was met with the large, purple Knight Bus. With a sharp twinge of sadness, he noticed that Stan was still not at his post. He climbed in to scattered applause and gave Ernie the fare. "Ottery St. Catchpole please," he murmured to which Ernie nodded.

He sat on one of the beds and looked out the window as everything swept by him. He was there in what seemed a blink of an eye. With a wave at Ernie, he stepped off into the brilliant June sunshine. He wasn't quite sure how to get there but he wandered out of town and caught sight of the winding turrets above the trees after walking for what he guessed was a couple miles. He pulled his weightless trunk behind him with renewed vigor and made it to their lane quickly.

His heart tightened, remembering his dream. He didn't know what he would do if any of the Weasley's died let alone his best friend and, well, was Ginny still his girlfriend? He wasn't given much time to ponder this as Mrs. Weasley, who must have seen him from the kitchen window, came hurrying toward him. "Oh Harry, Ron told me about your Uncle not showing yesterday. I'm so sorry," she seemed close to tears so Harry cut her off.

"It was fine Mrs. Weasley, no harm done," he couldn't help but smile at her soft face.

"Come on into the house dear. Hermione's coming later on this afternoon. Charlie! Come help with Harry's trunk! Ron, Harry's here!," Harry almost laughed at how easily she could slip from her soft, comforting voice to shouting orders at her children. "The wedding's in two days so forgive the mess." Harry chuckled despite himself. Leave it up to Mrs. Weasley to apologize for the mess.

Charlie came jogging out of the house a strained grin on his face. He didn't look much different from what Harry remembered of him. He had a few more scars then before but other than that he was the same. "Hello Harry," he greeted with a wave. Harry returned it and Charlie grabbed the trunk with a wrench. He flew to the ground with a surprised look on his face and Harry let out a guffaw.

"Sorry Charlie, it's weightless," Harry managed between spasms of laughter. Charlie glared at him but allowed the boy to help him up. Harry wanted to thank Charlie for taking his mind off everything but it didn't seem appropriate. Charlie hurried with the trunk up to the house and Ron came pelting out a moment later. Harry was struck surprised when Ron fastened his arms around Harry's neck.

"It's good to see you Harry," Ron said with a huge grin on his face.

"Yeah, um, good to see you too Ron," he cast a questioning look at Mrs. Weasley who merely shrugged.

"Come on, lets get into the house," she said shewing them toward the friendly monstrosity. They two boys followed Mrs. Weasley into the kitchen where she gestured absentmindedly at a plate of biscuits and a pot of tea. They carried the plate and their respective cups into the living room where everyone seemed to be congregating. Harry surveyed the room with interest. Fred and George were sitting at the fire chatting it up with Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. Charlie was coming down the stairs after, Harry guessed, depositing Harry's trunk in Ron's room. Bill and Fleur were sitting next to the window with Fleur's mother and little sister. Harry was decidedly surprised to see Percy in a corner, a book spread across his lap and a look of agitation on his face.

"He seems to think it his duty to annoy us all the time now," Ron explained in a hushed whisper. "It's done a world of good for Mum though; Dad's still a bit, well, stand off-ish." Harry nodded; he could see why Mr. Weasley would be a bit put out after Percy's abhorrent behavior. That was all Weasley's accounted for except Ginny.

Harry caught sight of her on an easy chair a bit away from the fireplace. She too had a book spread across her lap along with a notebook in which she was scribbling furiously. Her long, red tresses were pulled into a loose knot at the back of her head and she was wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a Weird Sisters t-shirt. Her bare feet were tucked under her legs pretzel style and she bit her lip in concentration. Harry thought her the prettiest witch he had ever seen in his life.

"Would you quite oggling at my sister please," Ron requested genially.

"Wha- oh, sure, I mean, I wasn't ogg-oggling. Where to?" Harry tried changing the subject swiftly. It made him nervous, talking about Ginny with all of her brothers around. Ron was one thing but he wasn't sure the others would take it as well.

"I have something to tell you in private," Ron whispered, pulling Harry bodily up the stairs. Harry was pleased that everything seemed to be so normal. It was nice to think things could still be normal after everything that had happened. Once safely in Ron's room Harry turned to his freckled companion.

"What is it Ron?" he asked, sitting down on the cot next to Ron's bed.

"Well," Ron couldn't seem to contain his excitement. "After you left the train station, well, I asked Hermione if-if she would like to, you know go out with me." Ron was blushing heavily now but he continued. "She, she said-"

"What did she say Ron?" Harry hastened though he should have been able to tell by Ron's almost drugged elation.

"Yes! She said yes," Ron exclaimed gleefully.

"That's great mate!" Harry replied, grinning. He would have to get used to the two of them going out, at least, he would hopefully have to deal with the two of them going out. If he defeated Voldemort he figured it would be a piece of cake to deal with this two best friends. Ron grinned again.

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Ron bellowed good naturedly. Ginny appeared in the doorway. "What is it?"

"Hermione just flooed; she wants to see you Ron." Ginny gave him a meaningful look and he tore down the hall and the stairs. This left Harry and Ginny alone. "Hello Harry," she murmured, not taking her eyes off him.

"'Lo Ginny," Harry returned awkwardly. She took a step toward him and Harry shivered.

"Harry, about the funeral," Harry nodded. "I don't think I can accept it." Harry was confused. What exactly could she not accept, Dumbledore's death, the eulogy, the Minister, the War, or, perhaps, the breakup. "Harry, I'm not going to let you break up with me," she stated, a sense of finality in her tone.

"What?" Harry sputtered. How could she not accept it?

"I am still your girlfriend Harry. I'll be waiting for you and there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, and before you go into that whole "Voldemort will be after you because of me" jazz I would like to point out a couple of things. First, the Weasleys have always opposed Voldemort, that's one strike against me. Two, I am a sure fire way to get to every member of my family many of whom are Ministry officials, that's strike two. Strike three, I have already been involved in Voldemort, that makes me an obvious target. I doubt my being your girlfriend and not just your friend will make much difference. Harry, even if it did make a big difference it wouldn't matter to me. You can't forget m'dear, that you deserve love perhaps more than anyone else. You can't just cut yourself off. Dumbledore did not get killed because of you. Sirius did not get killed because of you. We're all enemies of Voldemort and, as such, we are put under a certain amount of danger." Ginny ended her speech, a look of satisfaction on her face. Harry was gob-smacked.

"Um, um well."

"Harry, my logic is irrefutable, deal with it. Now lets go down stairs before Ron starts getting any perverted ideas. Oh, by the way, you might experience a bit of, erm, discomfort if/when my brothers find out." she said this with a bit of a sadistic grin on her face to which Harry could only shudder.

Ginny linked her arm in his and pulled him back down the stairs. All eyes turned to them and Harry felt five angry glares pierce through him. His stomach squirmed uncomfortably.

"H-Harry," Hermione cried, her voice sounding a bit strangled. She gave him a tight hug. "It's good to see you. I hope everything went alright at the Dursleys." Harry nodded, still painfully aware of the menacing gazes of the Weasley brothers. It seemed even Percy was in on the whole, "let's kill Harry with our eyes," phenomena.

"Harry, let's take a little trip outside," Charlie barked. Harry's face drained of all color but he followed the red-haired men outside none-the-less. He really didn't have a choice. Ron followed Harry which was slightly comforting. Ron wouldn't let anything happen would he?

"So, now we know why you like hanging out here so much," Fred's eyes were narrowed and he cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"N-no, it's not Ginny, well, um she's definitely an, um perk," Harry mentally slapped himself. Perk? How could he have just said that.

"A perk?" Bill's usually laid back self had morphed into an entirely intimidating character.

"That's not what I meant. I meant, well, that I come here to see everyone including my best friend Ron," he sidestepped behind Ron's tall frame. I suppose that includes Ginny as well."

"Let's just get a couple of things straight," George hissed. "If you touch our sister, befoul her in any way you will hope for a Death Eater. Now, we can't physically harm you now as you have to kill You-Know-Who but after….." Harry was left ponder exactly what would happen to him after he defeated Voldemort. The thought made him shudder.

"Let's just say that if Ginny is in any way hurt we won't be responsible for our actions," Charlie put in helpfully. They all nodded, even Ron who in turn received a sharp stab in the back from Harry.

"We like you Harry but that can only extend so far," Bill's eyebrows seemed to disappear beneath his hairline. Harry nodded hurriedly.

"I understand completely," his voice came out in a sort of squeak.

"I'm glad we understand each other," Fred replied. Harry was ushered rather forcefully back into the living room. Ginny cast him a sympathetic look and Harry had to smile. Despite how frightened he was of Ginny's brothers it was nice to know they could still be protective of their sister. It was nice to know that someone other than Voldemort was threatening him (I know, it makes very little sense).

That night Harry fell into bed with an incredibly full stomach. Fred and George had headed back to their apartment so it was just Ron and Harry in the bedroom for which Harry was eternally grateful. He drifted off to sleep, hoping for another vivid dream in which he could still talk to his parents, Dumbledore, and Sirius though his world didn't seem so bad after all….

A/N: I know it's been an inexcusably long time. I am sorry but I got back and had to recover from HBP. I also had to work it somehow into this fic which proved a bit hairy. I hope you like it and if you don't, um….sorry. I just hate stories that go directly against cannon, well, I hate writing them anyway. There will be another update soon I hope. School starts in two weeks though, my senior year, so updates won't be so frequent. Anyway, please review, push the button, I know you want to!