"This thing all things devours:

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers

Gnaws iron, bites steel;

Grinds hard stone to meal;

Slays king, ruins town,

And beats high mountain down."

Harry frowned and turned the piece of parchment over to see if there was anything on the other side. It was blank. He didn't understand. He recognised the note as being a riddle, but who was it from and why? He thought about the riddle, hoping the answer would help, but he couldn't work it out. He nearly tossed it in the bin, thinking it was maybe just a joke, but some notion stopped him, and he slid it into his trunk, which lay at the bottom of his bed. Trying not to puzzle over the note too much, he mental a mental note of all the things he should really do before seven that evening. The first thing was to get those damned essays finished, which would take most of the day. He also needed to clean Hedwig's cage and pack his trunk, which shouldn't take too long, even without using magic.

By six forty-five, Hedwig's cage had been thoroughly cleaned, he had nearly completed all his homework, (he and Ron could work on the rest together) and all his belongings were in his trunk, even if they weren't as neat as they could have been. He struggled downstairs, and just before he left, he called out to the Dursley's, "Right, I'm off now, see you next year!" Not surprisingly, he got no reply, even though he was sure that they had heard him. He did not care though, seeing as he would very soon be at one of his most favourite places, The Burrow.

As he neared the end of Privet Drive, he saw a familiar shabby figure waiting to meet him on the corner. He grinned and quickened his pace.

"Remus!" he called out as he approached.

Remus Lupin grinned back at the black haired boy that stood before him.

"Hi Harry! It's great to see you again, although I'm not sure that it is so great that I have to look up at you now, rather than down. How are you?"

Harry laughed, realising that he was now indeed taller than Remus. He wondered how tall Ron was now, seeing as Ron usually seemed to double in height each summer.

"I'm great. How are we travelling?"

"Knight Bus, I'm afraid. It seemed most convenient. I hope you don't mind too much."

"Nah, it's OK. I can't wait to see everybody again."

Remus stuck out his right arm, and there was a loud BANG as a large, purple, now familiar vehicle came into view. They climbed on board, Remus handing the driver Ernie a handful of silver sickles. Harry noted that the conductor, Stan Shunpike was absent, but thought nothing of it – he was probably just ill.

Harry and Remus took seats at the back of the bus, and immediately launched into deep conversation. As they talked, Harry noticed that Remus looked extremely well for once, although maybe it was because he was pleased to see Harry.

Forty-five minutes later, after they had been tossed around the backed of the bus repeatedly, there was another loud BANG and the Knight Bus pulled up outside the Burrow.

Harry and Remus thanked Ernie, and leapt off the Bus. Before Harry could say a single word, there was a scream of "Harry!" and he was enveloped in a huge hug by Mrs. Weasley, which prevented him from breathing.

"Nice to see you too, Mrs. Weasley!" he managed to gasp, as she released him.

"Oh, Harry, it's so good to see you again! Ron and Hermione are inside making supper – I presume you didn't have any trouble getting here, Remus? Good, well, we'd better go inside now, it's getting quite dark now, come on... hopefully those two have nearly finished making supper, so we shouldn't be hanging around for too long... "

Harry glanced at Remus, who was trying not to laugh at Mrs. Weasley as she ushered them in, still talking at top speed to them.

end of chapter

ok, i am really sorry about the delay, and even more sorry about the length of the chappies so far, but i'm actually having a bit of trouble getting into this story, because i wrote the first chappie so long ago i can't remember the plot. please still read my story though, because it is the reviews that keep me going. Elizabeth Teresa, thanx so much for you review cos it was really helpful, although you probably hate me now cos of this short chappie!

also did anyone recognise where the riddle was from? if you did you can prob guess the kind of stuff thats gonna be in my fic, although it is not going to be anything like the 3rd book i don't think.

so plz plz plz plz plz times a trillion review cos i need something to help me to get on with this story!

lol, thestraltamer