A/N: So, I'm going to write this story fast so I can finish it before the seventh book comes out. What fun would it be if we already knew what happened and we wrote one of these things? Yeah, stars don't work for some reason, so I'm just going to use O's. Review and I hope you like it!

Chapter 1

A raven haired boy stared intently at the digital clock by his bedside. The red, glowing letters read 11:58. Two more minutes until he turned seventeen. Two minutes until freedom.

Still mourning the loss of his head master, he had dragged himself back to Privet Drive in a haze, clutching the fake Horcrux that was a symbol of the last mission he and Dumbledore had gone on. The Dursleys had acted as if he hadn't existed, though as his birthday grew nearer, they became more and more apprehensive. That suited him just fine. He stayed holed up in his room, reading the occasional letter from Ron, Hermione, and…Ginny.

11:59. He couldn't bear to write much to Ginny, not since he had to live with what he had done to her. She wrote cheerful letters, telling him how the plans for Bill and Fleur's wedding were going, how Phlegm was driving her absolutely crazy, and how Ron was writing twenty letters a day to Hermione. He smiled to read them, but did she know how much pain they brought?

12:00. Midnight on July 31st. The boy grinned. Harry Potter was officially of age in the wizarding world.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The morning of his seventeenth birthday, Harry was up with the sun. He collected all of his things, which were strewn about his room, and magically packed all of them. Using magic was so much easier! Throwing on Muggle clothes, he went downstairs to the kitchen. He jumped the creaky bottom stair. The Dursleys always liked to sleep in during the summer, and he didn't want to wake them up. He liked them better when they slept.

Taking full advantage of his new freedom, he levitated bacon into a black frying pan on the stove. Soon, the smell of bacon permeated the kitchen as he toasted bread and poured a glass of orange juice. Knowing the smell of food would unfortunately wake Dudley, he ate his bacon and toast in a hurry.

Sure enough, loud thumps on the stairs signaled the arrival of his cousin. Dudley's fat, blond head poked around the door. "What are you doing?" he asked stupidly.

"It's called eating, Dudders, surely you know that?" Harry asked cheerfully.

"Why are you up so early?" Dudley asked, plunking himself down into a chair and scratching his blonde head.

"Because…nothing you need to know."

Suddenly something seemed to cross Dudley's features. "I know what day it is…!" Harry was reminded of his twelfth birthday when Dudley had said the same words. He said the same thing he had then.

"Well done. You've finally learned the days of the week!"

"I learned those when I was ten," retorted Dudley. Harry suppressed a snicker with a gulp of orange juice. "But today's your birthday. So what are you doing that's new?" Dudley smirked, thinking he had made Harry irritated.

Harry turned the tables back on him. "Leaving."

Dudley stood up in shock, shaking the table. "B-but you can't! Mum and Dad don't know!"

Harry snorted, catching his orange juice as it tottered dangerously. "As if they would care I'm gone."

"Are those – those freaks picking you up?"

"No. But I am officially of age in the wizarding world, which means I'm allowed to do magic," Harry smirked.

Dudley went pale and yelled, "MUM! DAD! HE SAID THE 'M' WORD! HE THREATENED TO USE IT ON ME!" Harry repeatedly banged his head on the back of his chair. Thank you, Dudley.

"HE DID WHAT?" roared Uncle Vernon. Dudley grinned at Harry. Honestly, Harry thought, you are so immature.

Harry's massive uncle appeared in the doorway, face purple and chest heaving. Spit flew from his mouth as he rounded on Harry. "BOY! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO – TO DO YOU – KNOW – WHAT IN THIS HOUSE!"

"Actually, according to wizarding law, now I am," Harry replied coolly.

"But according to MY law, you're not, boy!" said Uncle Vernon furiously, turning a deeper shade of purple. Then he realized what Harry had just said, and froze. "W-what? You c-can – do magic?"

"Yes, very good, Uncle Vernon," Harry said scathingly, standing. "And I'm leaving as soon as I get my trunk and Hedwig."

The color seemed to come back to his uncle's face. "You're leaving are you? Bloody good, you've never been anything but a hindrance to us anyway -." Aunt Petunia had come downstairs wearing her pink robe and slippers, and was nodding behind his back.

Uncle Vernon was still talking. "Ever since your good for nothing parents dumped you on our doorstep, it's been nothing but trouble! Hundreds of owls, that ruddy pig tail, the flying car, blowing up Marge, freaks busting into my parlor, getting an invitation to a best kept lawn contest to find there is no contest! And on top of all that, some hundred year old, crackpot old fool coming into our house and telling us what to do!"

Harry's wand was out and under Uncle Vernon's chin. Aunt Petunia screamed. "Never," he said in a dangerously low voice, "insult Dumbledore again." His blood was boiling, and he had to restrain himself to keep from hexing Uncle Vernon into a million blubbery pieces.

Uncle Vernon had gone pale again, his small eyes still managing to keep up the 'tough guy' look. "Or what?" he asked.

"I learned quite a few jinxes over the past school year," Harry said, staring him right in the eye. "But you wouldn't know that, would you? You never bothered to ask how my year was. You never knew that the greatest man of all time was murdered before my eyes. You never questioned the fact that Lord Voldemort now has his most faithful servant back with him…you just kept me here, in this hell-hole, for sixteen years…and now my torment is over. You were never a family to me. I'm leaving. Try to stop me." He jerked away from Uncle Vernon and went back up the steps.

Once in his room, Harry kicked his trunk, hard. That was the last time he would ever have to deal with that crap. Limping because of his recently injured foot, he levitated his trunk into the air and held Hedwig's cage in the other. He exited his old room and did not look back.

When he came back downstairs, Uncle Vernon had recovered his cockiness. "I knew you wouldn't have the guts to hurt a real man. You're too wimpy and pint sized. Look at Dudders here, he's a nice filled out boy." Dudley lifted his chin and smirked as Aunt Petunia stroked his hair. "You were always a coward," taunted Uncle Vernon. "That'll never, ever cha-!"

WHAM!

Harry had punched him right in the gut. Years of Quidditch training had let him pack quite a hit. "Yeah," he said to the doubled over form of Uncle Vernon. "I'm just a coward. That's why I defeated the worst dark wizard in years multiple times." He shot a look at Aunt Petunia and Dudley who were cowering against the wall.

He opened the front door and took a breath of fresh air. Harry grinned. "See you never!" He stepped over the threshold to begin his first day of freedom.

A/N: Alrighty then! 1st chapter done, Harry's now free! He's going to his Apparition test next. Reviews are love! Come on! At least five before chapter 2?