A/N: Well, this is my first little stint at authoring, and I'd like to welcome anyone who wants to read it to my story. The characters aren't mine, of course, and neither is the world. I owe J.K. Rowling quite a bit for the unending entertainment she has provided, so I would never claim anything that is hers. I don't pretend to be a great author, but I want to be better, so if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or comments, please review. The story is more than halfway finished, and I write faster than things get posted, so expect quick updates, and I promise not to abandon the story before it's all done and posted. (Don't expect many author's notes from me either, I just wanted to get all of this out of the way early on.)
Happy Reading - GhostCoon
Chapter One: Leaving for Good
The day was drawing to a close at number four Privet Drive, and for once the atmosphere in the smallest bedroom was warm and cheerful. For once, Harry Potter had his friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, with him. Also, to his immense satisfaction, they were just finishing packing up all of his things and getting ready to leave Privet Drive and his only surviving relatives, the Dursleys, behind forever.
As Hermione finished arranging the items in the trunk, Ron picked up the cage for Harry’s owl, Hedwig, and asked, “Are you still sure you don’t want to go back to school this year?”
Hermione instantly perked up, keenly interested in the answer. She had never been too happy about that decision.
“I’m sure,” Harry responded, “We’ll never have time to search for the Horcruxes and attend classes at the same time.”
Hermione looked dejected, but stayed silent. Truthfully, Harry wasn’t so happy about the situation himself. The best memories of his whole life were at Hogwarts, and Ginny would be there… best not to think about Ginny though. Leaving was partly for her protection as well.
Ron handed the cage to Hermione and picked up one end of the trunk, and muttered, “You can tell that to my mother.”
Harry had nothing to say to this, because he couldn’t imagine anything more frightening in the immediate future than that inevitable confrontation. Except perhaps the one with Voldemort. Although only sixteen years of age, Harry Potter was destined by prophecy to be the wizard to eliminate the darkest wizard in recent history… or die trying.
Harry picked up his end of the trunk and helped Ron carry it down the stairs. The three of them left the house and made their way down the street towards Mrs. Figg’s house, where Ron and Hermione had been staying while Harry was at his relative’s house. They went in and deposited Harry’s things, and spent some time planning the next several days. The plan was to first drop off Harry’s belongings at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix which resided at number twelve Grimmauld Place, and which, incidentally, Harry owned. The wedding between Ron’s brother, Bill, and Fleur Delacour had been postponed temporarily to allow Bill more time to heal from his run-in with the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, so that left them time to visit Godric’s Hollow. That was where Harry’s parents had been killed defending him, and where Voldemort had been defeated by the protection Harry’s mother had given him by dying for him.
“After that, we’ll definitely need time to study more about the Horcruxes, and about who the initials R.A.B. belong to.” Hermione stated. “That means we’ll want access to the library at Hogwarts, although there is probably a lot of material in the library at Grimmauld Place that we can use. There are lots of dark magic texts there, as I recall.”
Hermione loved anything to do with studying, and Harry knew that if they had any hope at all of succeeding, it would be largely due to Hermione’s skillful research. They needed to find three hidden Horcruxes, objects with pieces of Voldemort’s twisted soul imbedded in them, and destroy them, before destroying the last Horcrux which was a snake that was likely to be with Voldemort himself. Then Harry would be able to try and kill Voldemort.
This train of thought was doing him no good. Harry got up to leave for the Dursley’s, where he would be staying his last night. Hermione laid a hand on his arm. “We can do this, Harry. You’ll see.”
Ron was quick to join in, “Seriously, mate, we’ll be done with this business in no time.”
Their confidence in him was gratifying, and Harry grinned back. “I’m sure we will. Now you two have a good night, talking, or whatever it is you two do together.”
Harry smirked as Hermione’s cheeks turned pink and Ron’s ears turned red. They had been getting closer to each other as the summer progressed, and Harry was certain that they were doing more than talking. “You two be good.”
Ron grinned sheepishly and said, “Right. We’ll see you in the morning.”
************
Harry took his time wandering back to Privet Drive. He hated that home and the only reason he was excited about that night was that he would never have to go back after it was over. He was having a difficult time keeping his thoughts on cheerful topics; it seemed like everything that used to make him happy had been overshadowed by the all-consuming quest to rid the world of Voldemort and free himself from the burden of the prophecy. Death had taken too many people from him, and all of those deaths weighed heavily on his mind. He knew what he had to do, but there were so many variables that he didn’t understand, so many questions that he knew he would have, and he had no one to go to for answers now that Dumbledore was dead. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking that he didn’t even have Ginny to go to for comfort anymore. He had let her go to protect her, but he was sure that she probably wouldn’t even take him back if he asked her again. Ron and Hermione tried to tell him otherwise, but he had taken so long to notice her in the first place, and he knew she wouldn’t let herself be hurt by him again.
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass shattered his thoughts. He stopped and looked around, and at first glance nothing seemed to be out of place. Then he saw what looked like flashlights waiving in the window of the house in front of him, where a nondescript van was parked in the driveway.
Harry’s eyes narrowed, as he pulled out his wand. He knew he couldn’t legally use magic for another week, but he also knew that the family in that house, friends of the Dursleys, was at home, and likely in great danger. He knew he should run to another house and phone the police, but he feared that by the time anyone arrived it would be too late. Harry knew that the Ministry for Magic would let him off of any charges in exchange for favorable press, so he decided to help. Harry crept towards the front door, keeping his eyes open, and making no noise. The door was slightly ajar, and Harry pushed it open slowly, trying to see into the dark.
Without warning, Harry felt something hit him in the side of the head, hard, and saw his wand fly off into the night. Dazed, he realized he was curled up on the ground, and felt something warm and wet trickling down his face.
I’m never going to hear the end of this, he thought. Beat up by Muggles.
His problems grew worse. The burglars from inside the house joined the one who had been left to watch the front, carrying the last of the items they were stealing. Harry was struggling to stay conscious and heard them discussing what to do with him.
“Let’s take him with us; we can use him as a hostage if anything goes wrong on the way to London.” One of them suggested.
“What do we do with him then?” another asked.
“We can dump him in some alley, and no one will find him until we’re long gone.”
Harry didn’t like the way this conversation was going at all, and tried to get up, managing a half crawl. One of the thieves swore and kicked him hard in the side. Gasping for breath, Harry collapsed again, and had time to berate himself for being in such a stupid situation one last time before a booted foot made contact with his head and he passed out.