Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWO –

Coming of Age

Harry Potter was pacing back and forth across his room impatiently. He was wringing his hands, too nervous to pick up the thin stick lying on his bed. He was worried that he would accidentally cast a wordless spell, for that stick was a wand, and Harry was a wizard. This alone should have been enough to make Harry unusual, but he had also come to hate the summer holidays, especially this one, for in a few minutes, his last defence against a mass murderer by the chosen name of Lord Voldemort, was about to fall.

Harry had done everything he could to prepare for this moment; he looked around his room – 'well it won't be mine for much longer; Dudders will be ecstatic' he thought wryly – one last time. Nothing of importance was out; all his worldly possessions had been packed carefully into his trunk, which was now sitting at the end of his bed. An empty bird cage was lying on his desk, and lying around were old newspaper cuttings from the Daily Prophet. Harry focused on one lying in a puddle of light, it bore the headline:

HOGWARTS TO STAY OPEN

In a surprise move, the governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry decided yesterday to keep the school open with Professor McGonagall as the new Headmistress. It was believed, after the murder of Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards), that the school would be closed indefinitely, as the safety of the students and staff could no longer be ensured, and such a large concentration of defenceless wizards and witches would be too much of a target for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his supporters, the organisation calling itself the Death Eaters.

However, the governors, in conjunction with the Ministry have decided that the school will remain open for those students who are prepared to return. New Headmistress McGonagall announced yesterday that, "although we at Hogwarts all mourn Albus' passing, we know that he would have wanted us to keep the school open, his greatest wish was always to teach the next generation of students the skills necessary to live in peace and harmony in the magical world. However, now, to reach that ideal, students and adults alike need to learn how to protect themselves from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers. We are determined to teach those who are prepared to return to Hogwarts these skills."

A Ministry employee confirmed that more defences had been introduced at Hogwarts, but would not elaborate, although it was rumoured to include a contingent of goblins and various spells and charms set by –

But the rest of the article was stuck under Harry's trunk. A second newspaper bearing the title SEVERUS SNAPE AND DRACO MALFOY STILL AT LARGE was also visible. Harry, desperate for something to do to keep his mind at ease, focused on this one too.

Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy, possibly the most wanted wizards in the wizarding world have yet again eluded capture. Snape, a former Potions teacher and most recently Defence against the Dark Arts teacher has puzzled Aurors, who received another tip-off from an anonymous source than he was hiding in the vicinity of Malfoy Manor. Draco, a former student at Hogwarts, orchestrated the events in late May which resulted in Albus Dumbledore's ( -

However, the rest of the article was hidden in shadows. On his bed lay an envelope addressed to 'The Dursleys'. In it, was a letter explaining that Harry, who would be of age by the time they read the letter, was no longer protected by Petunia's blood. This meant that Voldemort and his followers would be able to find 4 Privet Drive the instant he became 17, and would most likely converge on it if he stayed there. Therefore, Harry would be leaving my magical means the instant he was 17, and they would most likely never see him again. Harry hadn't written 'Thank you' or 'Good bye' in the letter, for neither he felt was appropriate. The Dursleys had abused him from the moment that he had been left on their doorstep as a baby, going as far as to give him the cupboard under the stairs as a room for the first 10 years of his life there. He had been bullied, mistreated, underfed, and generally treated as a stray dog or servant his whole life, and he didn't regret leaving one bit. As for saying 'Good bye', that may have been possible, had it not been for the fact that they hadn't spoken to him since his premature return from Hogwarts, not even to greet him or ask why he was back early.

On the whole, Harry was excited about leaving, confident that his plan to remain hidden from Voldemort would work; the only worry he had, was reaching his hideout. He had used most of the remainder of the contents of his Gringotts vaults to buy a small flat near one of his best friends, where he could hide out for the remainder of the summer; he reasoned that as he didn't intend to return to Hogwarts, he wasn't going to run out of money anytime soon. He chose not to stay with the Weasleys because they would be an obvious choice, and Voldemort had probably left someone near them to watch for his arrival. That and the fact that the upcoming marriage would probably attract a lot of attention, and even if he could sneak passed the spies, he would probably be spotted later. Harry was nervous about asking the Grangers, as he hardly knew them, and in the event of an attack, they would be defenceless. He did not want to expose them to risk. Instead, he would stay alone in an unplotable and Fidelius protected flat; he had all the books with him explaining both (complex) pieces of magic. He now knew the necessary charms off by heart, and could complete them both in a matter minutes, he had practiced – without a wand. He would designate himself as Secret Keeper, determined not to make a repetition of his parents' mistake.

Now all he had to wait for was Hermione, who would apparate them to the apartment, and help with the charms and moving his belongings in. Harry's invisibility cloak lay on the bed, ready for him to grab the moment Hermione appeared.

He watched anxiously as the minute hand approached the twelve, and wondered if his precautions would be enough.

Suddenly, there was a faint pop outside 4 Privet Drive. Harry ran to the window, and pressing his nose against it, peered outside. Standing in the driveway, was a bushy haired witch; Harry grinned, threw his cloak over his shoulders and grabbing his wand, tapped his trunk and the bird cage. They gradually vanished as they were disillusioned, and he quickly muttered 'Locomotor trunk', carefully placing the cage on top of the trunk.

Harry's trunk rose a few inches into the air, and using his wand to guide it, Harry descended the stairs carefully, making sure he didn't wake the Dursleys. He quietly opened the back door, put his trunk down, and crept around to the front of the house. Sneaking up behind Hermione, he whispered in her ear 'What was the first thing you ever asked me?'.

Hermione jumped about a foot, and whispered back angrily, 'Harry, you scared me! You couldn't have given me some warning?' Harry prodded Hermione gently in the neck. 'Oh all right! Umm, I think I asked you if you had seen Neville's toad.' Harry relaxed, and grabbing her hand, dragged her around to the back of the house. There he pulled off the cloak and gave her a quick hug, but Hermione pulled him into a tighter hug and whispered 'I'm so glad to see you Harry, it's been too hard staying at home with everything that has happened' She still couldn't bring herself to say that Dumbledore was dead.

'Come on Hermione, we don't have long. We have to go now!' Harry whispered urgently into her hair.

'Oh all right. Hold on tight.' With a quiet pop, they, along with a trunk and bird cage vanished. It was 00:02.

Fifty miles away in Croxley, two forms suddenly appeared in an alley. Luckily there was no one around, on account of it being passed midnight; and they were able to make their way to a tall building which clearly housed many flats. Ascending in the lift to the 5th floor, they came before a newly painted door. Harry had had the flat redecorated before moving in, and as he fished around in his pocket for his keys, Hermione looked up and down the corridor, making certain no one was walking about. Finally, he pulled the keys out and unlocked the door. He and Hermione entered quickly, deposited the trunk and cage, and pulling out their wands, started mumbling quietly, waving their wands in complex motions. The walls of the flat glowed blue for a brief instant, as they rendered the flat unplotable. Hermione quickly marched out of the room, closing the door behind her, leaving Harry to cast the Fidelius Charm. Three minutes later, the door vanished, leaving a blank wall, and Hermione grinned, 'He can cast some pretty impressive stuff when he puts his mind to it.' she thought. Her grin disappeared when she realised that in fact he had to put his mind to it, this was a life and death situation for Harry, he had to get the charm right if he was to remain hidden. Harry appeared beside her a few seconds later, pulling his cloak off.

'Can you see the door Hermione?' He asked her, anxiety and fatigue clearly discernable in his voice. She noticed that his brow was beaded with sweat; evidently the charm took a lot out of him. It was after all far beyond NEWT level.

'No Harry, it's perfect, I suddenly had no idea where you were. Fortunately, no one else knows where you are either, so they hopefully won't have detected a difference.'

'Good, I'm exhausted. Do you want to come in and help me unpack or go home? I suppose it could wait until tomorrow.' He finished, swaying slightly.

'No, I'll come in and help now, but Harry, you need to show me where it is.'

'Oh yeah,' he reddened, 'I forgot. Here you go.' He pulled a piece of parchment out which read:

Harry Potter may be found at Flat 5c, Cherrycroft Flats, Barlon Way, Croxley.

Harry took the parchment off her and set fire to it with his wand, banishing the ashes. Hermione thought of the address on the parchment, and as she reached the part about Flat 5c, the newly painted door suddenly appeared where there had previously been a wall.

'Oh Harry, I'm so proud of you, it worked!' she threw her arms around him, at which point he very nearly did collapse. 'Oh I'm sorry. Come on, let me help you in.' Hermione practically had to drag Harry in, and quickly dropped himon a sofa, before running to the small kitchen to get him a glass of water. She hurried had and tried to pour it into his mouth, but he had passed out and wasn't cooperating. Suddenly worried, Hermione whipped out her wand and muttered 'Enervate', but it had no effect on Harry whatsoever.

Panicking, she threw the tap water on him hoping the cold water would wake him, but to no avail, Harry didn't open his eyes.

Hermione was about to call her parents, who being doctors, may be able to help, when Harry let out a quiet snore; Hermione almost fainted from relief. Scouting out the rest of the flat, she levitated him onto his bed, where she left him. Quickly unpacking his books, parchment and clothes, she wrote a quick note saying she would be back in the morning, and left, closing the door gently behind her.

Leaving Harry sprawled on his bed; she couldn't help but grin, thinking of the looks on their friends when they found out what they had done. After returning to the alley behind the block of flats, she apparated back her room; her parents never need know that she had left house for less than an hour.