Blackness surrounded Harry, with horrific voices that echoed around him. He was worried to death. What could this possibly be? All of a sudden, a beam of light began to shine far away from where Harry was standing. He walked over to the light, and found himself surrounded by all the Death Eaters, including Malfoy, and even his Aunt Petunia. They all had terrifying looks on their faces, and had their wands all raised.

"Say your last wishes, Potter," snarled Malfoy.

"You never were a terrific nephew anyway," said his Aunt Petunia, a skinny woman.

"Harry," came in a dark voice, "your death is nearing you. Put down your wand. You might as well."

Harry did not put down his wand at all. He knew who's voice that was. It was his worst enemy, Lord Voldemort.

"Harry," came in a familiar voice, "perform a spell! Quickly!"

Harry knew that voice to be his now-dead headmaster, Dumbledore. Harry felt the pain of losing his headmaster, or even his fellow friend. He had even witnessed the death. He hated Snape for murdering him, but he knew Snape was just following Voldemort's orders. Harry wanted to try the murdering curse, the worst one ever, but Harry remembered what his lost headmaster had told him the year before: "You have a power Voldemort doesn't, and that is love."

Voldemort raised his wand and aimed it towards Harry. "Avada Kedavra!" he screamed, and a bolt of mixed colors began racing towards Harry.

All of a sudden, Harry sat upright in his bed. He looked around, then looked out the window. He was still at the Dursleys, his relatives he certainly hated, but he thought that must be better than being murdered.

The dream Harry just witnessed had been happening all summer since Dumbledore's death. It had been haunting him ever since, and he woke up at the same time every night: 1:07 AM. Harry thought there was something strange about that, but decided not to bother.

Harry now remembered the Weasleys had asked him to Apparate to the Burrow that morning at around five o'clock. Since he couldn't fall asleep from now till then, he decided to turn on his lamp and wait. Hopefully he would not wake up his aunt or uncle.

He looked around at all the letters and Daily Prophets he had received that summer. Most of the letters were from the Weasleys and Hermione, but one had puzzled Harry all summer. It was sent from someone anonymous, and told Harry that Dumbledore had left him a mission: to search for all of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry had already knew that he had to do that, but the message on the letter that puzzled him the most said that Sirius, his godfather, was waiting for him at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. This couldn't be right now that Sirius had been dead for over two years now, and that the headquarters had been abandoned for a while. Harry wanted to know who the Anonymous was, but had no clue how to find out since no address had been given on the letter.

Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, also sent Harry a sympathy card for Dumbledore's death. He also told Harry that Professor McGonagall would become the new headmistress at Hogwarts. From that letter, Harry had a sense of something that everything would be changing at Hogwarts this year.

Time passed by to five minutes before 5 AM. 5 AM is when his aunt and uncle would awaken to head off to their jobs, but Harry didn't care, since this would be the last time he would need to return to the horrible house.

Even though Harry didn't take the Apparition test yet, he had been given permission to Apparate away from the Dursleys by the Ministry. He still could have Apparated away and not have gotten in trouble by the Ministry of Magic, since Harry had now turned 17. This was his final year at Hogwarts, and after he was done with this year, he knew he wanted to be an Auror and fight Voldemort.

The clock then struck 5. Harry stood up, concentrated on the three D's — whatever they were — and snapped his finger. He slid through a sudden blackness, and a minor pain, but arrived just outside the Burrow, where the sun had already risen above the horizon.

He hadn't even walked inside the Burrow yet, and Hermione and Ron came running towards him.

"Harry!" said Hermione. "It seems like I haven't seen you for ages!"

Ron came along and looked even taller than the previous year before, and his face looked a little peculiar.

"Ron," said Harry, "what happened to your face?"

Ron looked at Harry with a view of discomfort, but continued on explaining. "Oh, that was Fred and George's fault. It's their new invention."

"The Frightening Platypus," added in Hermione, with a harsh tone. "It messed up both our faces, but Ron, unlike me, decided not to take his mother's face recovering potion, and she won't allow Ron to use it now."

"What does this Frightening Platypus do?" asked Harry.

"It messes up your face," answered Hermione, with nothing else after that.

"There's seriously no other way of explaining it," said Ron. "It's just too complicated."

"I'll want to stop at their joke shop while shopping in Diagon Alley," said Harry.

To that, Ron and Hermione gave looks of wrongness. Harry looked at the two strangely.

"What? Why are you two looking like that?"

"Harry," Hermione said, "Diagon Alley, even along with Hogsmeade has been..."

"Closed," finished Ron for Hermione.

"What?" asked Harry with a tone of astonishment. "Why? How could they close them?"

"Ever since Dumbledore died," answered Hermione, "and since...Voldemort...and the Death Eaters have grown to numerous numbers over the summer, they decided to close the two for our own safety."

"Well, how will we get our supplies?"

"I don't know," said Ron. "Nobody's really told us."

"I think Professor McGonnagal will buy us all the supplies we need," said Hermione, "so we're all safe."

Harry now noticed that everything was changing. Ever since he was that small, skinny eleven year-old boy, everything has changed in the wizarding world. Everyone was happy back then, and now, everything came to a sudden darkness, ever since Cedric had died. He now knew that he would have to prepare himself for a struggling, dark year at Hogwarts, and he would have to face it no matter what.

"Anyway," said Hermione, changing the subject, "Ginny's been talking about you all summer."

"It's driving me nuts," said Ron, looking rather annoyed. "She always says, 'Where's Harry? I miss him. It's been forever since we last kissed.' It's pathetic, I think actually."

Harry had somewhat noticed that he had forgotten all about Ginny through all of the craziness going on. He began running into the Burrow, to find her, running for his heart's desire, running.

"Harry!" bellowed Ron.

Harry decided to ignore whatever Ron had to say. He didn't care at the moment; he wanted to see Ginny terribly. Wanted to remember all of the good times last year in the Gryffindor common room, wanted to remember his first gentle kiss with her, wanted to recall her touch, her always happy mood, her love for him, and his love for her.

"Harry!" yelled Hermione. "We have to tell you something about..." But the words trailed off.

Harry ran through the front entrance of the burrow, and didn't happen to notice Mrs. Weasley doing the laundry with her always casual magic.

"Oh, hello, Harry dear," greeted Mrs. Weasley, but Harry kept on running, up the stairs, down the hall, and through the door he knew as Ginny's bedroom.

He looked around the room, hoping to see one sight of Ginny. None. None at all. Not even in the bed. His hopes were wilted. What happened to Ginny? Was Hermione and Ron trying to tell him something important about her, but he decided to ignore the two?

A few bangs were heard from the steps, and Hermione and Ron showed up through the hallway.

"Harry," said Hermione silently, "we were trying to tell you."

"She's gone!" bellowed Harry, with the hint of a depressing tone. "She's gone from this earth, and it's all my fault!"

"Whoa," said Ron, taken aback. "Harry..."

Harry continued on with his temper. "It's my fault, I'm sure! Voldemort came here and killed her, didn't he? Am I right?"

"Harry," said Hermione in a smooth tone. "Harry, she's fine. She's not dead. It's Fred and George's stupid Frightening Platypus."

"Yeah," said Ron. "Her face was so messed up from it, she had to be sent to St. Mungo's for a while. She's fine, mate."

"Oh," said Harry, with an embarrassed tone. What had happened to him? Through the summer, it seemed he has became a little overemotional. Then, his thoughts began tracing back to his fifth year at Hogwarts, when Voldemort began controlling over his body, and changing his emotions. Could it be happening again?

"Why are you suddenly emotional?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah. It seems like you've gone mad," added in Ron, and Hermione gave him a small kick in the leg in response.

"I...," Harry stuttered. "I don't know... I feel...different."

A few thumps were heard on the steps, and the turn around the hallway revealed Mrs. Weasley.

"What is all the ruckus up here?" she asked.

"Nothing, mum," lied Ron.

"Well," continued on Mrs. Weasley, "I'd like for you all to meet someone downstairs." A fairly bright smile beamed into her face, with her eyes seeming to light up the almost dark hallway. She walked down towards the staircase, with Hermione, Ron, and Harry following.

Standing near the doorway was a somewhat tall, but skinny man, with almost perfect red hair, and a halfway smile drawn across his face. Harry instantly remembered who this was.

Mrs. Weasley walked over to the man, and said, "I'm sure once everybody returns, they will love to have you here, Percy."

Percy smiled in reply. "Thanks, mother."

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were silent. Had Percy changed? Was he done supporting the ministry and all of its evil habits? Harry seemed unsure, and decided to say nothing, unless Percy decided to talk to him.

"I know what you're thinking," said Percy. "That I still support the ministry." Harry thought he was reading his mind. "But, I do not support that rundown facility anymore. They have too many you-know-who supporters, so, I quit."

"Wow, mate," came in Ron. "You finally came to your senses. But, where will you be working now?"

Mrs. Weasley's smile continued on, and said, "He'll be working at Hogwarts this year as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"My brother?" asked Ron with depressed astonishment. "My brother as my teacher?"

"Sure thing," said Percy, "and you'll still have Potions with Professor Slughorn."

Percy looked in the middle of the three, and seemed to have noticed Harry. Harry hoped he wouldn't say anything. "Harry," said Percy. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"You, either," replied Harry dully.

"What do they call you now? The 'Chosen One', I heard?"

"I don't really enjoy that name."

"Ah, I see. I've seen you've had quite some riveting battles with you-know-who since I left Hogwarts. You're a true hero."

Harry noticed something in Percy's voice, some familiar dark tone, but couldn't recall of what it was. Suddenly, his scar began hurting; the pain was almost unbearable. He instantly put his hand to his head.

"Harry," Hermione said, "are you alright?"

"Harry, dear," came in Mrs. Weasley, "what is wrong?"

The pain became so terrible, Harry felt he was about to faint. Then, it suddenly vanished. Everything became silent.

"It...," stuttered Harry, "It was...nothing. Just...have a small...headache."

Mrs. Weasley gave a smile of relief. "Well, I'm quite grateful it was just that, with you-know-who on the rise now." She walked over to her undone laundry and continued using her casual magic.

Harry looked at Ron, and Hermione, and saw looks of disbelief on their faces, while at the same time, looks of anxiousness.

"C'mon, let's go back upstairs," said Ron, and walked back up the stairs, with Hermione following.

Harry took one last glance at Percy, and saw a red gleam in his eyes. His thoughts began racing. He couldn't believe it; was it real? Did his eyes just turn red? Could it possibly be Voldemort impersonating Percy? Could Percy possibly a Death Eater? Harry decided not to think about it, and walked upstairs into the bedroom.

Harry shut the door behind him, and said nothing. He had a worried look on his face, and Hermione and Ron looked concerned.

"What's wrong with you, mate?" asked Ron.

"You've been acting strangely lately," added in Hermione.

Harry continued looking down at the floor. "I swear..." He tried telling Ron and Hermione about looking into Percy's eye, seeing the red flash, but had a loss for words.

"Harry," said Hermione worriedly, "are you alright?"

Harry continued on, and explained about how his scar hurt, which Ron and Hermione claimed they already had figured out, and then told them about how he saw the red gleam in Percy's eye.

"It couldn't be," said Ron. "He's my brother. He can't be a follower of you-know-who."

Hermione had a look of confusion. "But, could it possibly be —" Hermione looked like she didn't want to say it "—Voldemort — impersonating Percy with the Polyjuice Potion?"

"That's what I thought," said Harry. "I think that's why my scar hurt suddenly."

Ron and Hermione gave looks of nervousness on their faces, and the three decided not to tell anyone about it while Percy, or Voldemort, was around.

Dinner that night seemed silent. The thought of eating near someone that had pure evil gave Harry a sudden pain in the pit of his stomach. His appetite was lost while sitting near Percy, but continued to eat anyway.

Harry also wanted to know where Fred and George were, and everybody else. Mrs. Weasley explained that the twins were staying at the Leaky Cauldron for the night until the Order comes and makes sure it's secure for them to Apparate, and then they would arrive.

Falling to sleep that night was enormously difficult to Harry, knowing that someone evil was near him, in that same exact household. Harry tossed and turned, thinking of what would happen if the so-called Percy happened to attack. Would he die, or would someone else, such as Hermione, die instead of him? Then the thought came to Harry that maybe it was just his imagination seeing it, and that thought seemed to allow Harry to drift off to sleep.

There was sudden blackness, and then a sudden bright light appeared in the distance. Harry ran toward it and fell through a sudden painful atmosphere, with multiple objects flying around him, sometimes smacking him.

Harry then fell onto a nice, soft, grassy hill. The scene drew an eerie presence. It was the graveyard where Cedric was murdered a few years ago. The pain of losing Cedric swept into his heart suddenly, and all the people he'd lost to Voldemort in the years: his parents, Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore...

He was suddenly tied to a stone pillar, with many Death Eaters surrounding him, including Malfoy, and his terrible Aunt Petunia. Harry winced nervously.

"It's time for death, Potter," said Malfoy evilly.

"You never were such a great nephew anyway," came in his Aunt Petunia.

"Put your wand down, Harry," came in a familiar dark voice. "You know you're going to die anyway. Just lie it down on the ground."

Harry looked around worriedly, and didn't know what to do. His scar suddenly began to hurt terribly.

"Harry!" came in a familiar voice: Dumbledore. "Cast a spell! Quickly!

"Harry," came in another familiar voice. Harry knew that voice to be Sirius's. "Harry, be brave like your father. You know nothing will come between you and Voldemort. If you kill him off, the whole world will change. Everything will be brightened up back to normal."

Harry lifted his wand slowly, about to say something, but Voldemort quickly said, "Avada Kedavra!" and a sudden red and green burst flew towards Harry rapidly.

All of a sudden, Harry sat upright in his bed at the Burrow. It was pitch black, everybody sleeping. Harry yelled as loud as he could, with an emotion of anger, "HERE'S YOUR LAST WARNING, POTTER! SAY YOUR PRAYERS!"

Someone moved across the room, and a light turned on. Ron looked at Harry strangely, with Hermione waking up from the floor.

"Whoa, mate," said Ron wearily.

Hermione had a shocking look on her face. "Harry, what happened?"

Harry continued looking straight in front of him, his mind on one thing. He said eerily, "Get ready. We need to get prepared. They're coming."