AN: Ok, I have a better idea of where this is going now, its gonna be a crazy ride folks, a crazy, badly written ride.

Essentially, I'm writing this to develop my writing skills. Constructive crit is gratefully appreciated. I am not a good writer and I know it, so please bear that in mind as you read this.

Oh, and I do not own any of these characters or locations, they belong to the wonderful J K Rowling.

Chapter One

It had a week since Harry had been to his aunt and uncles. He had been staying at the Weasley's until he went back to Hogwarts to complete his education. Hermione had been invited there as well.

The ministry had decided that everyone would have to repeat a year due to the forced takeover last year, so that everyone would have a proper education. This meant that the new first years would join the first years from last year, meaning that year would be double the size of an average year in the school.

It was a beautiful day and Ron, Hermione and Harry were sat outside under a big tree. Hermione sat with her back to the tree, a frown on her face, nose deep in a book, whilst Ron and Harry were busy discussing what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives.

Ron wanted to go ahead and be an auror to help prevent another dark lord rising again. Harry supposed he should want the same thing, but he found he couldn't quite stomach having anything to do with the ministry. They were discussing about the possibility of going into his own business maybe in security, or even teaching at Hogwarts.

Finally though they realised that Hermione hadn't said a word all afternoon. Ron was the one to break her out of her reverie.

"Hermione, you're awfully quiet." She looked up, "What's wrong? We need help deciding his future, and you're not contributing at all!"

"Sorry," she said, "it's just... I've been researching something, and I can't find anything that will help!"

"So... What are you researching?" Harry asked, curious.

"Well I want to become an animagus." She paused to let that settle in. "I've spoken to professor McGonagall about it, and she said she would be happy to help when I got back to school."

"And that's bad because?" Ron interjected

"Well, I thought I'd do some study in advance.." Ron rolled his eyes "and I've done the meditation, and the spells to find out what I could become.. and the results just don't seem right."

"Why on earth not?" Ron asked.

"Well.. You know how animagus forms are always muggle creatures right? Like cats, dogs, birds, that kind of thing..."

"Right" Harry and Ron said in unison.

"Well every time I try it, it comes up with the same result. Veela." She paused so they could take that in.

"But.. they aren't just magical creatures are they?" Harry said.

"Right!" Hermione smiled. Ron looked non-plussed. "What he means is that not only is it not a muggle creature, it is a sentient creature! It cannot possibly be an animagus form."

"Well, maybe you should wait till we get back to Hogwarts, so you can ask the professor." said Ron.

"Well... I suppose you're right." she replied putting the book down and looking at her watch. "Oh, we're late for dinner by the way."

"Well we better get going then." said Harry, picking up the blanket he was sitting on and moving towards the house.

Dinner was a subdued affair. It was Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Bill and Fleur who had been flooing in every day since the war, Charlie who had been doing the same, Percy who had been welcomed back with open arms, and George. Everybody tried to put on a brave happy face, but no-one could ignore the empty seat belonging to Fred.

Molly had said they were lucky to have only one death in the family, other people had lost their entire families in the war, like Teddy Lupin for example.

But it was still a reminder to Harry that he hadn't been able to save everyone.

Harry hadn't visited his godson since the war, he felt guilty about it, but he just couldn't bear to see him, he reminded him far too much of his parents.

So they were all sitting quietly round the table, eating there bangers and mash. Molly hadn't been putting in quite as much effort into meal preparation since Fred died.

Suddenly a high pitched alarm went off inside Harry's head. It took him a moment to figure out what it was.

"Oh shit!" he looked apologetically at the Weasley's "Someone has gone through the wards near my relatives, I have to go!" He pulled out his wand and apparated to just outside his Aunts house.

When he got there, he surveyed the street, the sun was just disappearing on the horizon, it must have been about 9pm, nothing looked out the ordinary though. That was until he heard two cracks from behind him. He wheeled around ready to shoot a curse at whoever had apparated in.

"Whoa, it's just us!" It was Hermione speaking, and besides her was Ron.

He had forgotten that he had keyed them into the wards.

"Sorry." He said pointing his wand down and looking round him again. "I haven't seen anyone yet."

"As if we were going to let you leave us behind," Hermione smiled. "How big are your anti apparation wards?" Hermione asked.

"About half a mile in diameter." He paused.

"That gives us about five.. maybe ten minutes." Ron said with a determined look.. "Why are the streets so empty? It isn't that late."

Harry looked around. Ron was right

"Lets get inside the house, we look way too inconspicuous, and we can fortify the house before they get here."

"Right!" the boys said as they went up to the door.

Harry pointed his wand at the door and said "Alohomora", the door sprang open and they all went in, locking the door with charms behind them.

As they did so, all three Dursley's seemed to converge in the hallway. Petunia looked stricken and pale. Dudley, looked worriedly at the expressions on the trio's faces, Vernon was turning a deep shade of red almost purple.

"What is the meaning of this?" Vernon boomed.

Petunia seemed to turn even paler as she said "They're coming aren't they?"

"We don't know" Harry replied "Hermione start casting protection charms around the house." Immediately she pulled out her wand and started waving it whilst muttering under her breath. "Ron, you go upstairs and keep a watch out of one of the front bedroom windows." Ron nodded and ran upstairs. "You three," he nodded towards the Dursleys, "keep watch out the front windows, I'm going to help Hermione."

Harry began strengthening the wards he had already put in place around just the house.

Petunia and Dudley sprang into action and raced to the lounge window to keep lookout. Vernon however stood his ground his fists shaking with rage.

"Now you just wait right there," he fumed "you can't just come into my house and begin barking orders!"

Harry stopped casting his spells and turned to Vernon.

"Oh yes I can." he said seemingly calm. "I don't owe you anything. You treated me like crap for the first eleven years of my life, and worse afterwards." Harry's eyes seemed to have grown darker, but his voice remained calm. "You can either stay here and do as I say and possibly live, or leave and get shot down like the filth you are."

Vernon stood there fuming, but seemed unable to think of a response. He eventually turned and went to keep watch out the lounge window.

Harry went back to strengthening the wards.

"How are you doing Herm?"

"I've managed to put up a couple of extra wards, but they aren't particularly strong ones..." she paused in her ministrations "Harry.. are you sure these people are even worth saving."

"Yes. I may not like them, and I certainly don't love them, but they are my only relatives in this world."

"Ok." Hermione was about to go back to casting when they heard a shout from the lounge.

"They're here! There are two of them dressed in black robes with white masks!" came the shrilly cry of Petunia.

Harry nodded at Hermione, who went rushing to the window to confirm.

"Harry?" Came a voice from the top of the stairs. Ron looked very pale. "it isn't just two death eaters."

Harry rushed through the archway into the lounge, barging past his family and Hermione who looked extremely pale, and he looked out and came to a stop.

Ron came up behind him and said gravely. "Dementors mate. Well over a hundred."

"Ok, it's ok. That must be why the streets are so empty." Harry said realising that even though muggles couldn't see them, they could certainly feel the coldness and the dread, as could he now he thought about it. After looking out over the legion of dementors he said. "All three of us can cast patronuses.. In fact we should probably cast them now."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vernon roared. "There's just two of them!"

"Shut up!" Dudley screamed at him. "Don't you remember when they attacked me? I couldn't see them then either!"

Harry looked at Dudley with a new sense of respect. Dudley nodded at him. Vernon was too taken aback to say anything back.

Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at each other and nodded.

"Expecto Patronum!" They yelled in unison.

Immediately a stag, otter and jack russel were stood side by side, looking out the window. All three Dursleys shot back in alarm.

"Through the walls?" Hermione said nervously.

"...Yeah" said Harry his face grim with determination.

As one the three patronuses, lept through the wall and charge towards the dementors, who scattered out of the way. The death eaters, realising what was going on, started shooting curses at them.

Their attacks were completely ineffective. They soon turned their attention to the house and began charging towards it, firing curses towards the windows. Around twenty of the dementors also began charging towards the house.

The curses were rebounding off the wards, but even Harry could see they were weakening.

"Dursley's, move back start barricading the doorways and the other windows."

Shocked into compliance, the three Dursleys started moving furniture in front of the doorway and Vernon was getting scrap wood to barricade the windows.

Suddenly more patronuses were joining the fray, it seemed the other Weasleys appeared. They hadn't been keyed into the wards so would have had to apparate outside of them. The Dementors were falling back, some were completely destroyed leaving only black rags behind.

But it was too late, the death eaters had reached the house. The glass shattered and the wards broke as a handy brick was thrown through it.

The trio had moved to the back of the room, and their patronuses were charging back towards the house. It was too late though, the dementors not in the main fray, were coming in through the window. Laughter echoed from outside.

"Haha, not even the mighty Potter can win this battle and come out unscathed!" Shouted a mans voice that Harry didn't recognise.

The patronuses were getting near the house now. But before his eyes Harry saw the Terrier fizzle out in a puff of white mist.

"Fred..." He heard Ron's voice at his side.

Harry realised that Ron was reliving Fred's death. It wasn't long until Hermione's fizzled out too.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, Harry was thinking. But it wasn't enough as the memories assaulted him. A green flash, his mother crying out, Fred, a line of dead bodies in the great hall.

"Get back both of you!" Harry yelled.

"But.." Hermione started.

"Now!" he yelled.

The dementors were now circling them, Prongs leapt through the window and was keeping them at bay.

Hermione grabbed Ron by the sleeve and dragged him back into the house, with a last look at Harry, they slipped through the doorway.

Harry was petrified, he could feel the patronus failing. It was no good, he'd have to make a run for it.

He turned to run just as Prongs dissipated into a white mist.

But he was too late, the dementors took their chance and leapt at him. He fell backwards as he was pulled onto the ground, his head hit the wooden floor with a sickening thud. The dementors held him down, whilst one of them leaned over and pulled its hood down.

Harry could feel its breath on his face and hear the rattling breath, and his last thought as he began to black out was 'How pathetic, I killed Voldemort only to be killed by a couple of renegade death eaters and their pets'.

He thought he heard his aunt screaming his name, and then everything faded to white.

Harry awoke a few minutes later. Ron and Hermione had come back in and were bent over him, the dementors were gone, the death eaters had been incapacitated. Aunt Petunia was in a similar state lying face down on the floor. Vernon and Dursley were surveying the room in shock.

"What happened?" He asked Ron and Hermione.

"We have no idea.."

At that moment the rest of the Weasley clan came through the door.

"We don't know what you three did, but all the dementors just vanished!" Charlie said with a grin. "Dad is out there restraining the death eaters."

Hermione, Ron and Harry looked at each other. They hadn't done anything..

TBC