HARRY POTTER
AND THE DAWN OF ETERNITY

Summary: Post HBP Fic; The days are growing longer. The time until Harry makes his last stand is growing shorter. Taking place directly after the events of Half-Blood Prince, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out on a search for the elusive horcruxes still left, and the battle grows more intense than ever. When the final dawn has broken, who will be the victor?

In this, thefirst chapter, Harry and the others leave on the Hogwarts Express for the last time as students, on their way to spend the remainder of Harry's time as an underage wizard at the Dursleys. The only trouble is finding a way to sneak Ron and Hermione along with him...

Disclaimer: Of course, I am not J.K. Rowling; I would never claim to be so imaginative OR to be such a wonderful writer. This world was built by her, and I am just a fan trying to entertain himself with his own ideas (and entertain others along the way, hopefully) while he awaits the seventh book.

Author's Note: Honest criticisms and critiques (reviews) greatly appreciated:)

CHAPTER ONE
A THOUSAND ENDINGS

For Harry Potter, everything was slowly ending all at once. For the last time, he stepped over a sacred threshold which had been the entrance to the past six years of his life. Now, as he stepped over that threshold as a Hogwarts student for one last time, he felt everything coming to an end all at once.

Gone were the days when he would return with all of his friends to Hogwarts as a student, under the rule of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore; the most powerful and wise man Harry had ever met had been killed before his very own eyes only a short time ago, and now Harry was left alone to face a challenge bigger than himself, bigger than anything he had ever faced before. He would not be coming back; not as a student, at least.

As Harry's feet landed upon the cold stone walkway that led out of Hogwarts forever, he gave a quick glance to his closest comrades who were walking at his side, their faces just as somber as his. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville were all lined up beside him.

As Harry turned, he glanced up to a bright blue sky, the sun shining down upon them almost patronizingly. Harry spited it, for he did not feel any such joy as that which was projected by the view above him. He wished it would vanish, to be replaced by a gloomy slather of black and gray clouds, which would almost perfectly have mimicked the feeling in his heart.

"Well, that's it then," Ron mumbled, his head hung low. "I don't suppose any of us will be returning, will we?"

"All of you will be," Harry prompted. "This is my task…not yours. It isn't up to any of you to do this. It's up to me."

"Don't be thick, mate. Me and Hermione have already told you we're going with you," retorted Ron.

"Wherever you go, Harry," said Hermione.

"And just because we've broken up," added Ginny, "doesn't mean I'm going to let you go. We're all a part of Dumbledore's Army, remember? You may be Dumbledore's Man, Harry, but we're still a part of Dumbledore's Army—all of us—to whatever end."

"Yes," said Luna. "My loyalty to Dumbledore's Army will never waver." At that, the dreamy young girl raised her head towards the sky, and saluted. Neville smiled, and imitated her action.

No matter how intent he was at doing this on his own, Harry couldn't help but to feel heartened by their loyal devotion. A feeling of warmth and happiness suddenly shot through his body, and it broke into a slight smile, as he beamed at them all, one by one. It was the first time he had truly smiled for days.

All around them, hundreds of other students were walking down a fated path as well. How many, if any, would be returning to Hogwarts next year? Would the school open back up? If so, would their parents allow them to return? Or would their magical education, like Harry's, end at the rise of Lord Voldemort and the fall of Albus Dumbledore? Harry couldn't help but wonder what would become of those whom he had grown up and learned with for the past six years. He couldn't help but wonder if they would survive until the end. And what would be the end?

As they all boarded the Hogwarts Express, Harry partook a moment to glance back upon the world which he was leaving behind. Never before had he so appreciated the beautiful architecture of the castle as now. Never before had he appreciated the fact that it had been his home until now. Everything was quickly coming to an abrupt end faster than he ever could have imagined. Nothing could slow down the wheels of time now as they ticked forward to the moment when Harry would make his last stand. Nothing.

For the last time, Harry stepped aboard the Hogwarts Express. For the last time, he shared a compartment with all of his friends, cramped as it may have been (they were only made to seat four people at a time). For the last time, the old witch came by with her trolley, offering sweets.

Stepping into the hallway, Harry bought the entire lot as he had only done once before. Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Licorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes, and every other type of wizard candy imaginable was now spread all across the compartment; on the floor, the seats, and a chocolate frog had attached itself to the window, whilst another was dangling from the ceiling.

For a brief period of the ride, the six of them abandoned memory of the terrible trials that now stood before and behind them, as they enjoyed a few glorious hours together trying to catch the many loose chocolate frogs that were now hopping all around the compartment; eating flavored beans together, sometimes retching at the tastes ("I think I finally got one of those bogey flavored ones George used to always go on about!" Ron said through a sickly grimace, after eating a peculiarly colored one), and upon catching the loose frogs, exchanging cards.

Harry's face went into a blank stare as he lifted up a chocolate frog card. Upon the face of the card was a tall, graceful man swathed in deep purple robes, blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles, which sat upon an extremely crooked nose.

The others looked at Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card, the smiles slowly fading from their faces. Based upon the photograph of Dumbledore, not much seemed to have changed.

Hermione moved over more closely to Harry, and began to read the card aloud:

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
LATE HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many to have been the greatest wizard of the latter 20th century, Albus Dumbledore was particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the 12 uses of dragon's blood, and for his work on alchemy with his also departed partner, Nicolas Flamel. Dumbledore was also known for his work in organizing the resistance to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named during both the First and Second Wars. Professor Dumbledore enjoyed chamber music and tenpin bowling.

"It's changed a bit," said Ron dismally. Harry still seemed to be stuck in a blank stupor; Hermione was biting her lip, as if unsure of what to say.

"To Professor Albus Dumbledore," Luna said, suddenly standing up and raising her wand in the air, which was now expelling red sparks, "one of the greatest wizards of all time!"

For a moment, the others looked upon her with awkward glances, clearly not having expected this. But slowly, they all five rose at once, their wands held up as well.

"To Dumbledore!" they all rang in unison. And at that moment, red sparks began to issue out of all of their wands, coming together to form into the unmistakable shape of a bird—no, a phoenix. In awe, they all looked at it, and it looked back at them. And then, with the grace of a swan and the assertion of an eagle, it took flight out of the window, straight through the glass pane. They all watched huddled together as it flew upwards, straight into the direction of the sun.

Each of them, having formed a circle, turned to look at one another. Their expressions were blank, their eyes searching, as if waiting for confirmation from one another as to which emotion they should now express. Harry's face broke into a grin, and he raised his head slightly higher. The others followed in suit, and all at once, they all fell into an embrace, a group hug amongst the last remaining, loyal members of Dumbledore's Army.

Time dragged on, until within less than half an hour they would arrive at King's Crossing for the final time.

"What do you reckon they'll do with Hogwarts if they close it down?" Ron asked, a question that had been bugging everyone.

"I'm not sure," Harry replied. "I haven't really thought about it."

"Well, there has to be some use for it," Hermione answered, "I mean, even if they did close it down as a school, Hogwarts is one of the biggest, and most well protected buildings there is. They wouldn't just abandon it and leave it empty, would they?"

"Funny you should bring that up," Luna said, "My father is preparing an article right now about the Hogwarts Magical Theme Park that will be erected in its place—"

"Luna, please, just stop," butted in Ginny, "That's complete rubbish. You must know that. They wouldn't dare build a theme park in place of Hogwarts at a time like this."

"But my father says—"

"Luna, Ginny's right," piped in Hermione, "No, they'd put it to a far more practical use than that."

Luna, while seeming slightly annoyed, said no more, but chose to turn her glasses upside down, tie her blond hair into a knot, and proceeded to examine her fingers, one by one. Strange though this behavior may have been, Harry and the others were quite unfazed.

More urban surroundings began to flash past, and Harry realized that it would not be too long before they arrived. Once he did, an enormous task lay before him: convincing the Dursleys to allow Ron and Hermione to join him for the remainder of the time he would be spending there; Ron and Hermione had both sent owls to their families beforehand to inform them of this.

"It's not going to be fun or easy," Harry blurted out, momentarily forgetting that the others couldn't read his thoughts.

"What's not?" asked Ginny, a look of confusion spreading across her face.

"Oh, nothing," said Harry, noticing Hermione, who was shooting a warning look at his face. From this, Harry surmised that she had caught on to what he had almost said. Though Ginny had heard it mentioned before, Harry didn't want to let her know that Ron and Hermione for sure planned to stay the summer with him at the Dursleys just yet. The truth was, he didn't want her tagging along; it would just make it harder for him to keep to the promise to himself he had made that he would not get back together with her until everything was over.

"Harry," said Hermione, "I need you to do something for me. Could you follow me down the hall for a moment, please?"

"Erm, sure."

Once they had stepped out into the empty hall and closed the compartment door behind him, Hermione began whispering hurriedly.

"I know you didn't want to let Ginny know," said Hermione, "and I agree. It'll be far harder to convince them to let us spend the summer with you if Ginny wants to come too."

"Yeah, that's true."

"But I have a better plan," Hermione went on, "we needn't even convince the Dursleys, if my idea works."

"Oh yeah?" said Harry, his interest piqued.

"Yes, all we need is your invisibility cloak."

"My—my cloak?" Harry repeated. He had of course thought of this simple solution before, but the idea of keeping Ron and Hermione hidden beneath the cloak for half the summer seemed quite impractical to him, while at the same time lacking the complex genius of some of the other plans Hermione had cooked up before.

"It's obvious, isn't it? All we have to do is sneak into the car with the cloak covering us. Of course, it'll just cover Ron and me up now—we aren't twelve year olds going to the astronomy tower at midnight anymore."

"But for the whole summer? Hermione, you've got to be joking. You can't seriously be thinking of spending the whole summer cuddled up next to Ron under the cloak, can you?"

At this, Hermione blushed a crimson color, a slight smile creeping across her face. Harry smiled back, not having intended for his words to sound so incriminating.

"Of course not, Harry!" she responded once her face had almost returned to a normal hue, "I mean, we won't have to stay under it all the time, will we? Surely there'll be times we could come out. I mean, the Dursleys don't constantly stay in your room, do they? And they are times when they leave the house, aren't there? And isn't there a park or something of the sort—"

"Okay, okay," Harry interrupted, "I suppose it could work, but it'll be hard."

"Harry, you're the Boy Who Lived. You saved the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort, you killed a Basilisk, you helped Sirius escape from the Ministry, you survived Voldemort in the Graveyard, you survived Voldemort at the Ministry, you went with Dumbledore to find a horcrux….and you're worried that it's going to be too hard to keep us hidden from your aunt and uncle?"

Hermione had said this as quickly as she could, and she now found herself gasping for breath. Harry stared back at her. Now that he thought about it, she did make a very good point.

"Well, don't you think it'd be better than outright begging them? This way they won't even know about it, so they can't complain about it."

"Okay, let's say this somehow works and you manage to get to Privet Drive without being caught," Harry said, another thought coming to his mind, "how do you reckon you and Ron are going to survive? The Dursleys give me owl rations as it is."

"Oh, I've already figured that out," Hermione replied, seemingly nonplussed at this new obstacle Harry had brought up. "I've written to my parents about it—they'll be sending things along, as well as money. I suggested Ron ask Mrs. Weasley about it as well, but he said he didn't want to spend the summer surviving on sandwiches."

Harry smiled, remembering how when he had first met Ron, Ron had been revolted at having been expected to survive the train ride on four dry, corned beef sandwiches.

"Well?" prompted Hermione inquiringly, "You'd better make up your mind, we'll be at the station any minute now."

"Oh, right," said Harry, pull from his momentary reminisce. "Yeah, I think it's a great idea. I'll just go and get my cloak out, and you two can put it on before we pass through the barrier."

So, the two of them headed back into the compartment, Harry pulled out his trunk, took the cloak out, and began to explain the plan to the others.

"So, you two really are going with Harry to spend the next few weeks?" Ginny said, once Harry had finished his explanation.

"I guess so," replied Ron.

Ginny looked slightly hurt. "Harry," she began, "could I—"

"No," Harry answered, before she had even finished, "there isn't enough room—it'll be hard enough to sneak Ron and Hermione through, and I don't want you to be in danger." The latter was a poor excuse, and Harry knew it; he didn't want to tell her the real reason.

"Danger?" Ginny said, "DANGER? Isn't the whole reason you're going back there so as to avoid danger?"

"Ginny," said Hermione, "Please listen to Harry. We would bring you along, if it weren't for the fact that it's going to be hard enough just with Ron and I. Wouldn't we Harry?"

"Yeah, definitely," said Harry, albeit unconvincingly, for this was simply not the truth.

"Okay," said Ginny, strained acceptance in her tone.

Harry smiled at Ginny. He wished deeply that she could come, that he could be with her. But neither of these things were possible, not until Voldemort was gone, not until he had completed his task as the Chosen One.

The view out the window was now passing at a much slower pace; the train was slowing down. Within a few minutes, the train had come to a complete halt, and all six of them were leaving the train, their luggage in tow. For the last time, Harry stepped off of the Hogwarts Express.

"I expect we'll be seeing you all again soon," Hermione said, as the DA parted ways.

"Be careful," Ginny said to Harry, hugging him. "And yes, we will be seeing each other again—very soon."

"Yeah, Bill and Fleur's wedding isn't that far off, is it?" said Harry.

"No, it isn't," Ginny replied, a mischievous smile upon her face.

"Harry! Harry dear!" came the voice of Mrs. Weasley. She was standing near the
barrier, waving at them all. "Oh Ginny, Ron!" she shouted, walking over.

"Hi mum," said Ron.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione, smiling.

"Hello dear!" she put in towards Hermione, smiling back. "Ron—do be careful while you're at the Dursleys. Are you quite sure that they'll be alright with you being there? I don't want to have to go to a Ministry hearing because you jinxed them!"

"Don't worry mum, we've got it all under control. It'll be alright."

"Oh, I do hope so," she replied. "All of you—please be careful."

"We will be Mrs. Weasley, I promise," said Harry.

Mrs. Weasley beamed at him, then, as tears began to swim in her eyes, she gave him a hug, and a kiss on each cheek. She went on to do the same thing to Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

"I mean it you three—be careful. I love all three of you as my children, and I couldn't bear it if something happened to any of you. I'd better be going now though, I suppose the Dursleys will be waiting upon you three. Come on Ginny."

They all said their goodbyes to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, and then, after they had left through the barrier, Harry handed Hermione the invisibility cloak, and she covered herself and Ron with it.

"Okay Harry," said Hermione, "can you see our feet at all?"

"Er," said Harry, looking down to see their sneakers still visible, "Yeah, I can."

"Right then," replied Hermione, "Ron, stoop down. That's it, good. You have dirt on your nose, by the way."

"Where?"

"Just there!"

"Did I get it?"

"Yes."

"Okay…are you happy now, Hermione?"

"Yes."

And with that, the three of them stepped through the barrier together, leaving Platform 9¾ for a final time.

Next Chapter: "Stoaways at Number Four"--Harry manages to sneak Ron and Hermione into the car, but the trouble is the bumpy ride home--which includes many unsuspected surprises.