Standard disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe isn't mine…I can only dream…


Harry walked quietly back to the Gryffindor common room; his mind turning over the recent events. He had come to terms with what Dumbledore had said to him. He really did appear to be the Heir of Gryffindor. He contemplated the enormity of what that knowledge meant to him and the people he loved. The thought of it troubled his mind though rather than thrilled him. What if he couldn't live up to what people would expect of him if they knew? More than that, what would the cost be to him if he did live up to them? He had long moved past his feelings of life not being fair. Nothing was fair, really. He had become more determined than ever to see this war through to the end, and let Voldemort be damned to Hell where he belonged. It pained him to think of his friends being hurt, or even killed. This was war, and not everyone would survive. As much as it hurt to think about, it was true. He decided Dumbledore was right, pushing his friends away wouldn't keep them safe. Only helping them fight and standing together would. It was time to tell them the truth about the prophecy and let them decide for themselves whether to stand with him, or hide themselves in safety for as long as Voldemort would consider them to be inconsequential. If he had to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure which option he hoped they would choose.

The common room was buzzing with students making plans for the upcoming school term. Harry saw Dean and Ginny sitting together in the corner going over their school schedules. Ginny was smiling at him and touching his arm, Dean looked like the happiest guy alive. Harry was surprised when, just for a second, he thought of knocking Dean right off his chair. He just shook his head and figured he was obviously just being over protective of her. She seemed perfectly happy and Harry could see that she had finally gotten over her crush on him. Ginny had grown into a strong young woman and he was lucky enough to be able to call her a close friend. When she looked up and saw him, her eyes lit up and she put her book down and walked over to him.

"Harry! You're back." She leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "How was your meeting with the Dumbledore?"

Harry leaned in and was momentarily distracted by the light aroma of lilies flooding his senses. "Ummm…yeah, it was good. I need to talk to you, Ron and Hermione. Where are they?"

"The last time I saw either one of them, Hermione was going off to the owlery to send a letter and Ron went up to his room to sulk about something."

Harry sighed. "Let me guess, she was sending a letter to Viktor Krum."

Ginny nodded. "Of course, it's so obvious how he feels about her. I don't know why he doesn't just tell her. I don't know how he expects her to know."

Harry looked into Ginny's eyes. "Well, I suppose it isn't really that easy sometimes." He looked over her shoulder and saw Dean glaring at him. "Is there something wrong between you and Dean?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, not at all. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I am going to go upstairs and get Ron. If Hermione gets back can you ask her to wait here please? Thanks."

Harry went up the stairs to the dorm he shared with Ron. When he got in the room he saw Ron sitting on the window sill staring out. He opened his trunk and placed the pensieve inside and performed a locking charm to keep it safe.

"Harry, you're back. How was the meeting? Did you learn anything new?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I have loads to tell you guys. Ginny is waiting downstairs and Hermione should be back soon."

Ron frowned. "She went to mail a letter to Viktor. I swear I don't know what she sees in him. He is way too old for her."

Harry looked at his friend for a moment. He wore his feelings so obviously on his face. "You know Ron, Hermione is a great girl. I love her like she was my own sister."

Ron looked up at Harry. "Yeah, she's great."

"I know you love her too, Ron." Harry chose his next words carefully. "I think you want what's best for her. But I don't think you love her like a sister."

Ron looked away quickly. "I don't know what you mean, and I don't want to talk about it. Let's go see if the girls are ready to go."

Ginny and Hermione were waiting by the fireplace when they came down from their room. Harry led them out of the common room up the stairs. As they walked, he explained how the moving staircases had led him to a little used hallway the night before. They neared the place where he knew the door to be hidden. He held up his hand and once again his ring began to glow and the door appeared and opened. He motioned for everyone to step inside and closed the door behind them. Hermione gaped at the shelves full of books, just as Harry knew she would. Ron and Ginny were staring around the room in amazement.

Hermione finally spoke. "Harry, what exactly is this place? How is that you can open the door? Did Dumbledore know about it?"

"Let's all sit down for a minute. I have a lot to tell you."

Harry told them all about finding the door after his ring started glowing. He told them about the shield and the wizard that spoke to him. Then he told them what Professor Dumbledore believed to be true regarding him being Gryffindor's heir.

Ron looked at Harry. "Bloody Hell, mate. Do you think it's true?"

"It appears to be true, Ron. I don't know any other explanation. I am guessing that the information we need to defeat Voldemort is somewhere in this room. We just need to find it."

"Well, Harry," Hermione smiled, "this is what I am best at! I can help. Do you think it would be ok for me to take a couple of books out of here to look through?"

"I think so," Harry said. "We can all go through them together." Harry paused and said quietly, "There is one more thing I need to tell you about though. After you hear it, you might change your mind about helping me."

Harry told them that he heard the complete prophecy after that night in the Ministry. He explained that the prophecy had been told to Dumbledore himself by Professor Trelawney. After he repeated it for them, he waited for their reactions.

Hermione looked horrorstruck and grabbed Ron's hand. Tears welled up in her eyes. Ron covered her hand with his. "Harry, that doesn't mean what I think it does, does it?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. It does. I have to be the one that kills him; or he will have to kill me. One of us will not survive it. So you see why I have been trying to push you away. It isn't safe to be close to me. I can't be responsible for more people I love to die. I just couldn't bear it." He looked away as tears welled up in his eyes.

Hermione reached across to Harry and hugged him. "We won't let you face him alone, Harry. We have always been in this together. You need us just as much as we need you. Besides, I can think of no safer place to be than right next to you."

Ron nodded, "Yeah, mate. You can watch our backs. And we always have yours, no matter what. Even if you have to be the one that kills him, we can help you get there. It is important to everyone in our world to be rid of him. You shouldn't have to do it alone, and you won't have to."

Harry looked over at Ginny who still had not said anything. She looked at him with fierce, blazing eyes and threw her arms around him. "You listen to me, Harry James Potter, you will not die. I will never forgive you, if you do. Do you understand me? You will take all the help that is offered to you, and don't try to protect us all. We understand what is at stake just as well as you."

Harry grinned and just held on to her for as long as the moment would last. "I wouldn't dream of making you that angry with me, Ginny. You are scary when you are mad. Alright, let's get some books and get out of here. Classes start tomorrow and we have lots of plans to make!"


If Harry thought the first couple of days of classes were bad, he knew today was going to be a nightmare. Double Potions was almost a fate worse than death. Thank goodness he had double Defense Against the Dark Arts afterwards. It had always been his favorite class (excluding last year) and gave him something to look forward to in the afternoon. He was getting up early in the morning and running laps around the quidditch pitch before breakfast. It was the best time of the day for him to just breathe and relax. Hopefully it would be enough to get him through another year in a classroom with Snape and Malfoy without living in a constant state of detention. He was determined to do well in Potions this year if it killed him.

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way into the potions dungeon and took a table near the front. The class this year was much smaller he noticed. He supposed the students that didn't need NEWT potions opted not to take it. Unfortunately, Malfoy and his cronies were there in the back of the class sneering at him as usual. Snape was as daunting as ever. He swept into the room and took his place at the head of the class.

"So, I see some of you managed to barely slide into this class this year," he sneered as he looked pointedly at Harry. "The level of work this year will require nothing but the best. If you can't keep up, you will never make it into NEWT class next year. Anyone that thinks they can't make it now can save us all the time and trouble and just leave now." He stared around the room. "Fine, your instructions are on the board and the ingredients in the main cabinets. When you are finished, bottle your potion and bring it to me." He then sat behind his desk reading over stacks of papers.

Harry set to work setting up his cauldron and chopping roots. Within the hour his potion was simmering along nicely. He was reading the final stages of stirring and bottling the potion in his book when Ron poked him in the side and nodded toward his cauldron. Harry realized that his hand was open next to the cauldron and the silver spoon was lazily moving counterclockwise in circles on its own. He looked up to see Snape staring at him. He quickly grabbed the spoon and started stirring it himself. When time was up he strained it and poured it into a clear glass bottle with a tight stopper. When he turned in his potion, Snape merely glanced at him and accepted it without a word. They cleaned their area up and headed out of class to the Great Hall for lunch.

Ron said, "Harry! You were doing wandless magic, without even thinking about it!"

"I know, it's been happening more and more lately. I thought for sure Snape was going to say something. I can't believe he didn't. He was actually alright today, for him, I mean."

During lunch, Ron and Harry worked on the bulletin they were going to post for quidditch tryouts for this years team. There were two beater spots open to fill with the departure of Fred and George Weasley and a spot for chaser. They put the notice up in the Gryffindor common room saying that trials would be held next weekend and then hurried off for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

All the students filed in and took seats. Harry was wondering what this new professor was going to be like. Hopefully, she didn't follow the same line of thinking that Umbridge did. The class fell silent as Devyn Cochrann took her place at the front of the class.

"Good afternoon, my name is Devyn Cochrann and I am, obviously, your new Defense professor. I understand that your professor last year liked to focus more on theory and no practical experience. While I can appreciate the value of theory….it won't save your life in a real situation. So, if you don't mind, we will have more practical based experience in here to try and catch you all up." She leaned on the corner of her desk and scanned the room. "What I want to do today is pair you up and see what level you are at now so we can know where to go from here. Pick your partner and have your wands at the ready, please."

The class quickly paired off. Ron and Harry stood together and Hermione had paired off with Neville.

"Ok, first off, we are going to see where your shielding abilities are. You will each try to disarm your partner while they attempt to block you." Devyn walked around the room watching the students. She paused to watch as Ron pointed his wand at Harry and shouted "Expelliarmus!" while Harry shouted "Protego!" and a shield so strong flew up that Ron's jinx actually deflected off Harry and hit the person next to them.

"Oy! Potter! Watch it!" Seamus Finnegan shouted.

Harry laughed. "Sorry about that Seamus!"

Professor Cochrann called out for everyone to stop. "Very good, very good. Some of you are further along than I expected considering your lack of instruction last year. What we are going to work on this term is mastering non-verbal spells. Do not try to block your partner, allow them to try a simple jinx non-verbally. Concentrate, and just channel that magic through your wand. It will take you a lot of practice and some never really master it. Don't feel the least bit badly if you can't do it right away."

By the end of the class, Hermione had managed to vaguely tickle Neville. Neville, still red-faced and nearly passing out from hyperventilation, had not managed to even cause Hermione a twinge. Ron had managed to make Harry's right leg fall asleep, and Harry had managed a weak stinging hex on Ron's left arm. Harry thought it had been a really good class for the most part.

Professor Cochrann spoke to the class, "Alright everyone, good job for today. We need to keep practicing and I would like two-feet of parchment on the mechanics and benefits of wandless magic, to be turned in by next week. Class dismissed, except for Mr. Potter….would you stay behind and see me."

Harry shrugged at Hermione and Ron, "Go on, I will catch up with you later."

Professor Cochrann called for Harry to come down to her desk. "Have a seat Mr. Potter. Thank you for staying after class."

"Yes, Professor." Harry found himself squirming just a bit under the steely gaze of her icy blue eyes. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No Harry, quite the contrary. I understand you taught some of these students defensive spells last year. Quite impressive, I can tell which ones were in your DA. They are much more advanced than the others. Professor Dumbledore had told me that he would like you keep up the DA as a 'dueling and training club' this year. I am to help you in an official capacity."

"Yes, ma'am. That is what I was told also. What do you need for me to do?"

"I believe in not messing around with success. What you and your friends were doing was obviously working. I will just sit in on meetings and make sure no one gets too badly injured. Of course, I would be happy to add any assistance to you that you require of me. When do you plan on starting again?"

Harry thought a moment. "I have already set up quidditch trials for next weekend so maybe during the week after that? I was planning on putting up a notice on the school bulletin board. We kept the club private last year because…well…we had to. We were hoping to open it up to anyone that wanted to join this year, from all houses."

"Commendable, Mr. Potter. Let me know when the first meeting is going to be held and what you need from me. Off you go now."

Harry and his friends spent the remaining afternoon and evening trying to catch up on the mountain of homework that was already beginning to pile up. Finally, Ron could stand it no longer. "That's it! No more homework; I am starving. Let's go get something to eat."

Hermione closed her book. "To tell the truth, I can't read another word, either. Let's go."

The dining room was filled with students and loud conversations as usual. Harry sat next to Ginny and Dean, Ron and Hermione sat across from them. "Hi Gin," Harry smiled, "Hi Dean. I thought we were nearly going to miss dinner. I didn't realize it had gotten so late."

Ron was soon stuffing a second piece of pie into his mouth. "Man, that was good. I couldn't eat another bite!"

Hermione just shook her head and laughed. "I don't see how you ate all that you did! How you still manage to look so good and eat that much is beyond me."

Ron just stared at her and blushed. He was saved from further embarrassment by loud "ohhhhs" and "ahhhhs" coming from the front of the Great Hall. They all looked up and saw a beautiful, large golden bird flying through the doors and landing directly in front of Harry.

Hermione leaned over to get a better look. "Harry, is that a golden phoenix? Just like the one you saw in your vision?"

The phoenix looked into Harry's eyes and she began to sing softly. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He looked into her brilliant green eyes and understood every word that she was singing to him. "Her name is Fiona," Harry said.

"You can understand her Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I can." Harry said. "She is beautiful isn't she? She says she has come to stay with me if I want her too."

Ginny reached out and stroked her feathers. "Harry, she is beautiful." Fiona walked over to Ginny and stood in front of her singing then nuzzled against her. "What is she saying?"

Harry turned a little red and said, "She just really likes you, Gin."

Soon there was a large crowd standing around Harry looking at his new bird. The girls, especially, continued fawning all over her. Harry looked up and saw Cho smiling down at him. "Harry! Is this your phoenix?"

"Umm, well yeah….I guess she is. Her name is Fiona." Harry said. "Fiona, this is Cho." Fiona hopped onto Harry's shoulder and stared at Cho for minute, then hopped back down in front of Ginny and began singing again.

"Walk me to my room Harry?" Cho asked.

"Of course, I'd be happy to. Are you ready to go now?" Harry stood up.

Everyone got up and started heading back to their common rooms together. Harry turned and ran straight into Draco Malfoy who was leaving the Hall with his cronies.

"Watch it, scarhead!" Draco sneered. "If you didn't have so many people around you all the time maybe you could see where you are going!" Draco stared at the phoenix sitting on Harry's shoulder and laughed. "Now you get all this attention for having some silly bird? I have been telling people for years what a 'bird-brain' you are."

Harry growled. "Just walk away, Malfoy." The air around him crackled with energy. Draco turned and walked away laughing.

Ginny glared behind him. "I'll show him 'bird-brain'."

"What was that Gin?" Harry asked. "I didn't quite catch that."

Ginny smiled as Dean came up and put his arm around her waist. "Nothing Harry, nothing at all."

Harry asked Fiona if she would go to the common room with the others. "Ron, can you just put her on my bed so she will know where it is? I will fix her a place when I get up there. I will be there soon." Fiona hopped onto Ginny's shoulder, and then he turned and put his arm around Cho and walked off toward the Ravenclaw common room. Cho slid her arm around Harry's waist and hooked her thumb in his back pocket. Harry grew a bit flushed at the thought of where her hand was resting. "So, umm…you want to come watch our try-outs next weekend? I don't think I will be giving away any trade secrets by letting you watch," he grinned widely at her.

"I would love to go anywhere you asked me to Harry."

They had stopped in a hallway shortly before her door. "I guess we are here already," said Harry. She was standing so close to him again. He just couldn't think straight when she was that close. Harry looked down at her and finally gave in to his want…and just for a little while, he enjoyed being a normal 16 year old boy kissing his girl goodnight.