Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling; the original characters are completely mine. hrr

I haven't even properly started the story yet and I already have trouble when thinking of writing new chapters. Maybe some reviews would help me. hint hint

Planning vacations

The next morning Harry woke up at 7am in order to make breakfast for the Dursley's. Against their expectations he loved cooking, baking and experimenting with food. It helped him relax and focus on one task.

This was actually how he discovered his new love of brewing and discovering potions. He really reveled in inventing new things, be it potions or spells or simply new dishes. The feeling of improving or achieving something that was never done before made Harry wear a silly smile on his face all day long. Of course he tried not to let people see him in this state other than his friends. After all it wouldn't do to lose his cool and calm reputation he gained over the last twelve months just because he started bouncing up like a small child when he finished another one of his projects.

One of his newest and definitely most ambitious goals was to improve the wolfsbane potion or even better find a cure for this condition. With the help of Tia who grew and crossbred herbs and other plants, he already managed to make the existent potion taste better and make the change a bit less painful than usual. This might not mean much for most people but for Harry it was one step into the right direction.

His main reason for trying his hands at such a complicated task was Remus Lupin. The older man still suffered a lot because of his disease. So much that Harry felt compelled to make it his first priority to have another break-through with his potions experiments.

Things hadn't always been this way. One year ago when the big revelations came to Harry, he was furious at everyone he knew from the wizarding world, including or more like especially Lupin. The werewolf had suspected for years how controlling Dumbledore could be but did nothing in order to help his best friend's son. Even though he accepted no payment or spied on the Boy-Who-Lived; Harry was angry because he only stood by and did nothing. He also didn't accept feeble excuses from Lupin. Instead he practically ordered the man to prove that he was sorry and gain back the lost trust.

Remus took these word to heart and in the following year he changed from a scruffy insecure man to someone Harry could be proud of to call a friend. Gone were the tattered clothes and hunched shoulders. The werewolf transformed into a force that could be reckoned with, he also was one of the very few people from the wizarding world that had some idea what Harry was up to during his holidays. Furthermore he proved his intentions by reporting the Order meetings to Harry.

After Harry finished making breakfast for his relatives and himself, he went on to complete his other chores. Only then would his aunt be willing to let him leave the house without much questions asked.

The whole morning and early noon passed this way. Harry cleaned the house (most of all Dudley's room), washed, dried and ironed clothes (once again it was mostly Dudley's stuff) , weeded the garden and washed his uncle's car (why did he have to do such stuff every day?... it was completely unnecessary) .

When he finally finished all his tasks, he already had to start cooking lunch. Today Dudley had invited a girl that had recently moved into the neighborhood. To impress her Dudley promised to cook something special for her. Translated that meant that Harry had to start earlier this day because he had to whip up a three-course Chinese meal so that his fat cousin could impress his potential future girlfriend.

Normally Harry would be annoyed at being ordered around not only by his aunt and uncle but also by their son. He only decided to make an exception because of two things. First of all he loved cooking and regarded this task as a new challenge to deepen his skills. Second reason was that today he would meet his friends, all seven of their little group, to plan the rest of their holidays. Therefore he was too happy to care about a stupid kid with an overblown ego.

Within the next three hours he prepared sweet-and-sour soup, egg rolls, roasted chicken, rice noodles with lots of vegetables and soy sauce and as dessert he prepared lychee's ice with honeyed bananas. The only task left for Dudley (or probably Aunt Petunia) was to warm some of the dishes up and to barbecue the bananas later on.

Soon Harry ran up the stairs, took a quick shower and ran out of the house to the next bus station. The bag with his own clothes slung over his shoulder, he dove into the bus and nearly lost Dudley's old pants with the last daring jump he made.

Twenty minutes later – after changing into his clothes at the toilet of the bus station – he made his way into the Café Noir. Immediately he made his way to the back where his friends waited in a secluded corner.

Skye was the first to greet him. He made his way towards Harry and yanked him closer to the table.

"Nothing goes ever fast enough for you, eh?", jested a black-haired guy from the bank.

"Hi Tariq, it's been some time.", greeted Harry and hugged the speaker.

"What about me?"

"Of course I missed you, too, Alyx. As well as everyone here. It's good to see my friends again. Did I miss much?"

Harry looked into the round and regarded each of his friends.

Skye, the impulsive water elemental that showed Harry how to enjoy life without getting too careless.

His girlfriend Tia who was Harry's assistant in his potion experiments by growing the plants he needed. Also his self-appointed caretaker whose strong personality could be scary sometimes.

Tariq, one of his best friends, was a born vampire and a very strict teacher that taught Harry how to make seals and wards. He loved having fun but was a very dangerous person to enrage because he had no problem ripping your head of when you insulted his friends...literally.

Shun was a Chinese mage and besides Harry the smallest in the group. He also was one Harry's closest associates and was the silent supporter in the group. Like everyone else he taught Harry in the subjects that he excelled in: Martial arts and dueling. Furthermore he answered all questions he could about how to become a mage.

Next came the twins Alec and Alyx. Both were powerful demons and high ranking members of the Amado clan. Even though they looked quite similar to each other, their characters couldn't be more different. Where Alec was more the serious and protective type, his younger sister lived to cause trouble and was too curious for her own good.

The group got completed by Caleb, a 19-year old natural born werewolf. As the oldest of the group he felt responsible for protecting Harry and especially his girlfriend Alyx. He was also the blacksmith of the group and supplied everyone with the weapons they needed.

All in all they were an interesting group that no one dared to mess with.

After greeting and hugging everyone in the round, Harry took a seat among his friends and caught up with the tide of events. Even though his friends wrote him regularly Harry wanted to be sure not to have missed something crucial.

Then they came to the most important topic of their meeting.

Tariq started "So now that we have nearly three months of free time, what do you suggest we do?"

"Whatever we do, I want to continue my training", answered Shun.

"Same for everyone, I guess, but that's no problem. We can enjoy ourselves and train at the same time.", meant Caleb.

"I considered working at 'Suriel's Haven' for some time to pay my yearly fee", said Harry "but I have another suggestion that would work for everyone."

He paused.

"What are you waiting for, spill it."

"Well, I have enough money to donate some money for the club. So why don't we travel around the world? Everyone can suggest one or two destinations and activities we should do there. At the same time we can train each other. That means for me I can slowly catch up with everyone else and all of you could work on your weaker points."

Tia cut in "What about your relatives? Aren't you supposed to stay there until you're 18?"

"Why should he stay for the next three weeks, only so that he can leave them then? Now that Voldemort is dead there's really no reason for him to play slave for this stupid muggles. Just as there's no reason to obey Dumbledore anymore."

Alyx stood up to defend Harry's idea.

" I mean we are all strong enough to protect ourselves, especially when we stay together. How is Harry supposed to have much fun when he is constantly under the thumb of Dumbledore and his cronies?"

"I agree", came the silent reply from Shun, "Harry is one of my best friends and I know he is responsible enough to make his own decisions."

"Then the only question remaining is: What do you want to do, Harry?", Alec spoke up for the first time during that discussion.

Harry considered only for a short time.

"All my life I had to be careful and follow the orders of someone else while being kept in the dark about the consequences my actions might bring. Now that the threat of the Dark Lord is removed, I think that it's my right to make my own decisions. As long as I don't hurt others I don't think that there will be problems."

"Well then it's agreed", Skye concluded " We're all making a world trip. And since there are seven strong people defending our poor little Harry-kins, we can do it without a bad conscience."

With that said, they sat back down and finalized their plans.

To be continued...

AN: Whew, that was a long chapter. How did you like it? Do you have any ideas where the group should travel to? I still like the idea of super-strong Harry, at least compared to his former friends and Dumbledore.

Just tell me what you think.