A/N: I haven't posted in a long time... :P After the depressing ending to the last chapter, I kinda lost my inspiration... MUSE, COME BACK! PLEEEAAASSSEEE!

Oh, I think I just found something! Yaaay! This chapter will definitely be lighter! And a tiny bit of Romione, if you look closely...

In the days following his discovery of Hedwig's death, Harry felt himself falling into a haze of depression, which was slowly replaced with that deep anger again.

Harry felt as though he was getting far too used to these feelings. He also was getting far too used to his scar burning nonstop...

"I don't want to, Ron."

"Aww, come on, mate. You only live once!"

"Ron! Leave him alone, he just needs some time!"

"Hermione, it's been nearly a week!" Ron sighed. "Life's too short for him to sit around and sulk all day! If Hedwig were alive- and, er, you know, human- she wouldn't have wanted this! Neither would Sirius! And this is exactly what Voldemort wants! It would do him good to let go of this depression and to get back to living his life!"

"Well," muttered Hermione, a little uncomfortable. "I guess you're right..."

Ron turned back to Harry. "Just for a few minutes, Harry..."

Harry sighed and stood up. "Fine, but just for a few. Don't bother me anymore after this, though!"

Ron grinned and raced out into the garden. Upon walking out, Harry breathed in the warm summer air. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face. The moment was over, however, when Ron called to him from the broomshed. They picked up their brooms and took off into the sky.

As he soared, all of his worries and problems seemed to be blown away from him with the wind. His hair blew back, and his eyes stung as the air rushed past him. He went to dizzying heights at breathtaking speeds, and realized that Ron was right- he had needed this.

"I'll race you to the ground!" Ron shouted, zooming past him suddenly. "Let's scare Hermione!"

Grinning, Harry put on a burst of speed to catch up to Ron. They raced to the ground, Harry pulling ahead all the time, and flew so close to Hermione as they prepared to land that she shrieked and dove to the ground, covering her head.

As they hopped off of their brooms, they collapsed in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Their amusement only grew when they saw the look on Hermione's face.

"HARRY! RON!" she shouted, fuming. "You lost my page in my book!"

"What are you reading, anyway?" Harry asked, snatching the book off of the ground. He smirked. "Ah, yes, Hogwarts: A History- as expected. Tell me, did you find anything about the Hogwarts house elves this time through?"

She snatched the book from him and hit him over the head with it, sending Ron into more laughter until she did the same thing to him.

"Hey, 'Mione," said Harry. They were sitting in the garden a few hours later, lying on their backs in the warm grass. A plate lay abandoned a few feet away from them from when they had tuna sandwiches for lunch. They had laughed and joked for hours, and Hermione and Ron had marveled over how Harry had lightened up after only a simple ride on his Firebolt. "Truth or dare?"

"I never agreed to playing this."

"Oh come on," Ron exclaimed exasperatedly. "Don't ruin the fun, just pick one!"

"Oh, fine," she huffed. Then, like a true Gryffindor, she chose, "Dare."

"Hmmm..." Harry murmured, a mischievous gleam in his eye and a smirk on his face. "I dare you to... Ride on a broom for five minutes."

A look of horror spread across her face. "Harry, I can't-"

"Oh, Harry, spare her!" Ron said, in a mock-dramatic voice.

"Fine, then," he said to Ron, his smirk growing even bigger. "You have to go with her, then."

Ron blushed and glared at Harry. He stood up and grabbed his broom, helping a nervous Hermione to her feet. "Five minutes, no more, right, Harry?" he growled.

Harry grinned and nodded. "Five minutes."

Ron climbed onto the broom, Hermione following him clumsily.

"You'd better hold on. And not there-" he told her, as she had moved to grab Ron's shoulders. "You can't hold on tight enough there, you might fall off." Harry watched in amusement as she awkwardly put her arms around Ron's waist, a blush moving across her face.

"You ready?" Ron asked. She nodded, and they took off. They went faster than expected, because Ron had grabbed the Firebolt wothout realizing it. Hermione screamed as they pulled into a dive, approaching the ground and almost crashing before Ron pulled back up. Soon, however, Hermione's screams turned into shouts of joy, and five minutes passed without them realizing it.

"Harry," a voice came from behind him as he watched them fly. "May I have a word?"

Harry turned around to see Dumbledore coming towards him. "Yes, sir," he said, quickly sitting up and brushing the grass off of him. "Here, or-"

"Here's as good a place as any," Dumbledore replied, glancing up at Ron and Hermione in amusement. "Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley look a bit preoccupied at the moment, anyway."

"Yeah, er-" Harry began, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "It was a dare..."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said serenely, following the path of the broom. "I find amusement in childhood games and actions such as those. Sometimes, I even participate in them, despite my old age. I will never forget the time I had to walk around with a vibrant purple beard for a whole day, because of a dare your father gave me on the last day of his seventh year. I must say, we ended that year in style."

Harry found himself laughing. "My dad had the nerve to do that to you?"

"No, Harry," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. "Rather, I had the nerve to join in the fun."

Harry laughed again. "But, professor, what did you need to speak to me about?"

"We did get a little off topic, didn't we? I came to speak to you about Hogwarts. Will you be returning for your last year?"

Harry was caught a little off guard by this question. "Er- I never really thought about it... After I thought you'd... Well, I was planning on just searching for Horcruxes, but now I'm not exactly sure."

"Well, now that I'm back, I could resume the search for you. You could come on more excursions to look for them with me, if you wished to, now that you're an adult in the eyes of the law. It would be easier for you to help me if you were in Hogwarts, because I could contact you easier. And at the same time, you would still be getting the education required to get a good career. Also, I think it would be the decisions of Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley to return for their final years. It, however, is entirely your choice. If you wish, we could go over the options for if you were to decide not to go to Hogwarts."

"No, it's fine, sir," Harry said quickly. "I want to help, so I'll go. Anyways, I like Hogwarts, and I suppose I should take my N.E.W.T.s so I can get a good job."

"Excellent," Dumbledore replied, nodding. "When Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley decide to come down, I can speak to them about it."

They sat in silence for the next few minutes, watching as Ron went in loops and dives that made Hermione squeal. Finally, with one last scream from Hermione, they touched the ground. They began laughing loudly as they slid off of the broom. Then, when they turned and saw who was sitting with Harry in the garden, they froze.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione exclaimed, blushing.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said, smiling and patting the ground next to him and Harry. They awkwardly walked over and sat down.

"That was a little more than five minutes," Harry said, smirking. "Enjoy yourselves up there? Told you you'd like flying, 'Mione!"

"Oh, be quiet, Harry," Ron said, his ears pink with embarrassment as Dumbledore watched this exchange in amusement.

"Umm, Professor Dumbledore, if you don't mind me asking..." Hermione began nervously, "Why are you here?"

"No need to be nervous, Miss Granger," he said calmly. "I simply wanted to discuss the matter of Hogwarts with you three. Harry here has already agreed on returning for his last year. Will you be, as well?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione, visibly calming. "Yes, sir, the N.E.W.T.s are very important!"

"Er- I guess I can't just stay here alone," said Ron. "Yeah, Hogwarts is cool."

"As expected," Dumbledore said. "As you know, term starts in around two weeks, a little less. Now that you've excepted the offer, the owls will arrive with your letters sometime this week." They nodded, and he stood up. "Well, I must go speak with Molly now. Have a nice evening." And with that, he left."

"You gonna be okay with Hogwarts, mate?" Ron muttered. "I mean, after all that's happened this summer?"

"Yeah," replied Harry. "Yeah, it'll be cool."

"Excellent," he exclaimed, a grin on his face. "Now, how about another go on our brooms?"

"Sure. Hermione, you coming?"

"Oh, fine," Hermione said, but this time, she was smiling. "But I'm going with Ron again, on his broom this time.

A/N: Hope you guys thought this chapter was worth the long wait! So sorry about that :P

I won't be going through much of the classes at Hogwarts. Instead, I'll focus on the horcruxes and stuff.

Also, sorry for the extremely long summer. I don't know how long their vacations really are, but I had to make it this long to fit the plot...

Thanks again to the reviewers, who are Calaminaria, futureauthor62, and to guest reviewer MoldyNugget! You guys rock! I would make you some e-cookies, but I'm out of chocolate chips :P Will you accept peanut butter cookies, or, better yet, chocolate covered strawberries with whip cream? XD XD XD

Reviews are much appreciated! Now, I'm hungry, so I'm just gonna post this and go eat some Ramen Noodles or something, I don't know...

-Breeze