Chapter 1:

Return to Grimmauld Place

The group of students walked in the door of Grimmauld Place and sat there trunks down on the floor. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good to be home."

Ginny smiled at him, "So, this is home, then."

Harry nodded, "Until we move into Potter Manor, it is."

Fred and George grinned mischievously, and Harry groaned as he realized what he had just said. Fred began, "What do you mean, 'we', Potter?"

George finished, "One would almost think that you were suggesting that Ginny move in with you."

Harry winked at Ginny, "I was."

Fred and George stopped in surprise. Ron burst out savagely, "Harry, my sister is not going to be living with you."

Harry snorted, "I think that is up to Ginny to decide, and I don't think that your parents will have any objection as long as I marry her."

Ron stopped flabbergasted, "Are you saying that you're going to marry her?"

Harry turned away from Ron and looked straight into Ginny's eyes, "Could there ever be any doubt that I would want to marry her?"

Ginny shook her head, the entire room forgotten, "There was never a doubt in my mind, Mr. Potter." The two of them moved together and their lips met, while they were standing in the foyer.

Ron, Hermione, and the twins simply stood and stared in amazement. Molly and Arthur smiled at the two, before Arthur coughed loudly to alert the two that they had an audience. Harry and Ginny broke apart and grinned sheepishly in embarrassment. Molly put her hands on her hips, "When exactly were you thinking of putting a ring on my daughter's finger?"

"When I finish my N.E.W.T.'s?" asked Harry.

Molly pursed her lips in disapproval, "Ginny will still be at school. I think that is a little young to be getting married."

Harry went a step further, "Not if we wait a year after the proposal to get married. We could wait until she finishes school."

Arthur stepped in, "I can live with that."

Harry grinned, "Good, because that was what I was planning on doing anyway."

Ginny stomped her foot angrily, "There's one problem with all of this, Mr. Potter."

Harry turned to her, "What's that?"

"You can't exactly surprise me with the proposal if I know when you're going to do it." answered Ginny.

Harry grinned mischievously, "I may not be able to surprise you with when, but I know that you will be surprised with the how."

Hermione looked at Harry, "Exactly how are you going to propose to her."

Harry bowed, "As to that, my lips are sealed. There does not exist a person that could get the information out of me."

Ginny advanced on him, "I bet that I could, Mr. Potter."

Harry smirked, "I assure you, Miss Weasley, that you are the last person that I would ever tell. I intend to shock and amaze you."

Ginny smiled, "You do that everyday."

Ron, Fred, and George made fake gagging noises. Harry frowned at them, "Alright, enough mush. Let's just get our stuff upstairs. I need to drop by the manor." He turned to Ginny, "Do you want to come with me?"

Ginny nodded, "Of course. I love that house."

Fred and George snickered, and George said, "The two of you just want to sneak off to snog."

Harry shook his head, "As large as this house is, we don't have to leave for that. I need to pick up my Pensieve, and I want to check on the Quidditch pitch. I need to run by Diagon Alley as well to pick up some Quidditch gear. I want to get a set of Quidditch balls. At some point this summer, we're getting some people over to Potter Manor and having a game. Hopefully more than once."

Ron looked at Harry in bewilderment, "What pitch are you talking about?"

Harry gasped, "I can't believe that I didn't tell you. The field behind Potter Manor is bewitched so that you can play Quidditch on it without being spotted by Muggles. If I put a blocking charm just like a real pitch, we'll even be able to use real balls."

Ron and the twins grinned, "Wicked."

Molly seemed concerned, "Harry, are you sure that's safe?"

"It's perfectly safe, Molly. Voldemort is hardly likely to attempt attacking me in broad daylight. Besides, since Potter Manor has been empty for so long, it's the last place that he will expect me to show up at. He's not going to be able to pick us out of Diagon Alley either, even if he is dumb enough to try. Voldemort is going to attempt to take me while I am asleep for the time being. He's not suicidal enough to face me head on, unless he uncovers some of Merlin and Morgana's lost spells." answered Harry.

Arthur leaned forward, "What if he does discover the spells that he needs to defeat you, Harry?"

Harry grinned, "Just because he learns the spells doesn't guarantee victory for him. It just gives him a chance. Besides, I would know if he learned them."

Hermione asked, "Why?"

Harry shrugged, "I can still sense his emotions even if I can't read his thoughts. The elation that he would feel from discovering something of that nature would be unmistakable." Harry turned and lugged his trunk upstairs, and the others reluctantly followed him.

A few minutes later, Ginny was standing in front of the fireplace waiting for Harry to come back downstairs. Harry walked into the room with a light cloak that covered his entire torso on. Ginny asked, "Why are you wearing that thing?" Molly looked on in curiosity.

Harry moved the fold of the cloak to the side to reveal that he was carrying the Sword of Gryffindor. He flashed a feral smile, "Just because I don't think that Voldemort is dumb enough to attack me directly, doesn't mean that I am not going to be prepared if he is that stupid. I don't intend to take any unnecessary chances."

Molly smiled in approval, "Don't be too long. I'm going to be starting dinner in about an hour."

Harry grinned, "It shouldn't take us much longer than that. We'll be back soon." He stepped into the fire and yelled, "Diagon Alley."

Ginny turned to her mother, "He didn't use Floo Powder, Mum."

Molly shrugged, "I don't know. I guess that he figured some way around it."

Ginny grinned at the thought of how powerful Harry was as she grabbed some Floo Powder and threw into the fire. She followed it in saying, "Diagon Alley." She stepped out into the Leaky Cauldron to find Harry waiting for her. The two of them walked through the pub, and out into the Alley. Ginny looked over at Harry as they moved through the throng of shoppers. "Harry, did you know that you didn't use Floo Powder to get here?"

Harry grinned as he looked around to make sure that no one was listening, "Sorry about that. I should have warned you. I didn't use the Floo Network. I Apparated. I just have to practice, so that I can make it look like I am using the Floo Network, because I don't want it to be common knowledge that I can Apparate."

Ginny pouted, "You could have told me."

"I meant to. I just forgot with everything else that we were talking about. Here's Quality Quidditch Supplies. Let's get the balls and then head for the manor." Harry said.

The two of them walked into the shop, and the clerk bustled over, recognizing Harry immediately. "Mr. Potter, what can I do for you today?"

Harry grinned, "I told you to call me Harry, and I need a full set of Quidditch balls with a case."

The clerk nodded, "Certainly, Harry. I will get it for you immediately." He walked into the back to get the case, while Harry pulled a money pouch from within his robes. The clerk sat the case on the counter and said, "That will be 20 Galleons."

Harry dropped the money on the counter with a flourish, and then grabbed the case and hoisted it onto his shoulders as he handed Ginny the money. Ginny took the pouch, and followed Harry out of the store. The two walked back through the Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron. Harry walked up to the fireplace, and looked around quickly. No one was paying very close attention to him, so he stepped into the fire and called out, "Potter Manor." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ginny smiled to herself, "He sure knows how to make an exit." She pulled a pinch of Floo powder out, and tossed it into the fire, and followed Harry to Potter Manor. She stepped out to find him sitting on the couch. "You seem cozy enough."

Harry sighed, "I am, and if I didn't have so much work to do, I would definitely ask you to come be cozy with me, but alas, it is not to be." Harry jumped up and pulled Ginny into his arms. He kissed her gently, and then smiled, "Well, it's time to get to work."

Ginny asked, "What do we have to do?"

Harry grinned, "Well, I have to put a blocking charm on the pitch, but I can easily do that later. I want to strengthen the wards around the house as well, but that will have to wait as well. What I need to do is much more important." He held out his hand, "Hold on. I'm going to Apparate us somewhere."

Ginny asked, "Why can't we just Floo?"
Harry shook his head, "The Floo Network doesn't connect to Azkaban."

Ginny squawked, "Why are we going to Azkaban?"

Harry chuckled, "Don't worry. The prison is abandoned since the Dementors went over to Voldemort's side."

"Then, why are we going?"

Harry grinned, "I think that we should begin using the prison again for Death Eaters. I just have to arrange some new guards."

Ginny asked hesitantly, "What kind of guards?"

"You'll see. Now, take my hand so that we can go."

Ginny sighed and grasped Harry's hand. The two of them disappeared from the manor and reappeared on an island. A large forbidding fortress sat on the island. It was a dismal place. Ginny shuddered at the sight of it.

Harry smiled down at her, "We won't be here long. You'll have to be quiet, so that I can work the magic for this."

Ginny persisted by asking again, "What are you going to do?"

Harry waved a hand at her, "Just wait and see the finished product. By the way this is a hush-hush matter for the time being. I'm going to tell the Order and the Ministry once I am sure that it is going to work."

Ginny stepped back and stayed silent so that she could see whatever feat that Harry was going to accomplish. Harry raised his arms and began to chant in some long dead language. Ginny watched while Harry continued to chant in a rising and falling tone of voice. She gasped in amazement a moment later as a gigantic mound of earth erupted up from the ground and then began to split up into man-shaped figures that were easily twelve feet tall. Once there were at least two-hundred of them, Harry stopped chanting. "What are they?"

Harry slumped down to the ground. Ginny ran over to him. He waved her off, "I'm fine. Just give me a minute to recover."

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" asked Ginny in concern.

Harry nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. That spell just took a lot out of me."

"What did you do?"

"Those are Golems, Ginny. I just created two-hundred and fifty of them to be the new guards of Azkaban." answered Harry.

Ginny stared at Harry in shock, "Are you serious? Do they work?"

Harry nodded, "They work just fine. All I have to is activate him. Once I key them to certain personnel at the Ministry and in the Order, I will do so. Then, we can bring the Death Eaters here."

"When are you going to tell the others?"

Harry shrugged, "We don't have to be in any big rush. The next Order meeting, I guess. Let's go back and eat some of your mother's cooking."

Ginny snorted, "Boys. Trust you to always be thinking with your stomach. You're as bad as Ron."

Harry replied in indignation, "I am not. Ron would chew somebody's arm off to get to the food. I'm hardly that bad. I just used up a lot of power. I need something to replenish my energy levels."

Ginny smirked, "I know. I was just trying to see if I could get a reaction out of you."

Harry nodded, "If that's the way that you want to play the game, Miss Weasley, you do realize that I can leave you out here."

Ginny smiled coyly, "I don't think you would do that, Mr. Potter."

"Why is that?" asked Harry.

She smiled, "Because you love me."

Harry eyed her warily, "I don't know. I'm not for sure. You'll have to remind me of whether or not I do."

Ginny continued to smile, "I guess my brothers were right. You did just bring me along, so that we could sneak off to snog."

Harry laughed, "If that was truly what I had in mind, I think that I would have found more romantic surroundings."

Ginny laughed with him, "I guess you would have. However, here is your reminder." She leaned down to him and kissed him lingeringly on the lips.

They broke apart after a few moments and Harry nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I definitely love you."

She smiled, "I knew all along."

"Let's go home." Harry stood up and held out his hand to Ginny. She took it and they Apparated to Grimmauld Place. They popped into Harry's room, and scared the wits out of Ron.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Harry? You almost gave me a heart attack." Ron yelled.

Hermione came running in when she heard Ron yell. "What's going on?" she asked. Then, she noticed that Harry and Ginny were doubled over with laughter.

Ron pointed at the two of them in disgust, "They just popped in on me, and scared me half to death."

Hermione attempted to hide a smile behind her hand, but Ron saw her. "You think this is funny too, don't you?"

Hermione giggled slightly, "Well, it is kind of amusing."

Ron shook his head, "Whatever, I'm going down to dinner."

Harry and Ginny finally stood up straight, and quit laughing at Ron. Ginny wiped the tears of mirth that had been forming in her eyes away. She said, "That was great."

Hermione tried to look disapproving, but she couldn't keep the smirk off her face, "That wasn't very nice. You scared him pretty badly."

Harry shrugged, "It isn't like we did it on purpose. I assumed that everyone would already be eating dinner by now. So, I decided that we would Apparate up here where no one would be likely to hex us just because we appeared from nowhere."

Ginny took Harry's hand, "Come on. Let's go eat. You can make up with Ron later."

Hermione chuckled, "Don't worry about him. He won't remember what he's upset about by the time that he finishes dinner."

The three teenagers walked downstairs to the kitchen for dinner. The rest of the evening passed by with some occasional banter, and several games of Wizard's Chess and Exploding Snap. Soon enough it was time for bed and the two boys kissed their respective girlfriends goodnight.

Later that night, Harry awoke to noises coming from downstairs. He listened for a moment, and then determined that he could definitely hear Dumbledore's voice. He pulled on his robe, and kicked Ron's bed, "Ron, wake up."

Ron rolled over and said sleepily, "Five more minutes, Mum."

Harry replied exasperatedly, "I am not your mum, and we don't have five bloody minutes. Something's wrong. Dumbledore is here and it's the middle of the night. Go and wake the girls."

Ron looked at Harry drowsily as he started to walk out the door and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs to find out what is going on."

"What if they don't want you to find out what is going on?" asked Ron.

Harry shrugged, "What are they going to do about it? Send me to my room? In case you have forgotten, we're in my house. I can throw everybody out if I decided that it was necessary."

Ron gave a short laugh, "Oh, yeah, I forgot."

Harry walked downstairs as Ron dragged himself out of bed. Harry walked into the kitchen to find Arthur and Molly sitting at the table. Molly had obviously been crying, and Arthur was holding her in his arms. Harry stopped in the doorway, "What happened? It isn't one of the boys is it?"

Arthur shook his head, "No, Harry, all of our children are fine. It's the Burrow."

Harry turned to Dumbledore, "What happened at the Burrow?"

Dumbledore sighed, "I suppose that we need to wake the others. They will want to hear this as well."

Harry waved his hand, "They'll be down in a minute. I woke Ron up and told him to wake the girls." As soon as Harry said these words the other three teenagers walked into the kitchen. Harry sighed, "I think that we had better sit down for this."

Ginny looked at her mother, "Mum, what's wrong?"

Dumbledore spoke up, "I will explain, Miss Weasley."

Ginny nodded, "Okay, Professor."

Dumbledore began as the others sat down around the table, "Tonight, Voldemort sent a raiding party of Death Eaters and Dementors into Ottery- St. Catchpole. They were apparently searching for the Burrow. It is my presumption that they assumed that you would be there, Harry."

Harry nodded to signal that he understood the implication. Dumbledore continued, "The Burrow was destroyed. There is nothing left."

Ginny grasped Harry's hand under the table, and he gave it a gentle squeeze to signify that he understood. It was up to him to ask the question that had occurred to everyone. "What about the Muggles? How many of them were killed?"

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed in anger as he thought about the attack, "There were ten Muggles killed tonight, Harry. Many more were injured, and the Ministry has Obliviators sorting out the mess right now."

Harry slammed his free hand down onto the table in a fist. "It's time that I had a little conversation with Tom, I believe. Let me concentrate for just a moment."

Harry closed his eyes and allowed his consciousness to flow out towards Voldemort, "Tom!"

"What, Potter?" Voldemort's voice dripped with malice.

"Since you are obviously displeased, I take it that you know your little attack failed. However, you did manage to destroy my friend's home, and I don't take kindly to that. Not to mention the ten Muggles that died tonight. I will be taking my pound of flesh in payment from your Death Eaters. So, why don't you save me some time, and tell me which ones you sent. That way I can kill the right ones. If not, I will simply have to kill the first Death Eaters that I come across."

"My legions will destroy you, Potter. I will still be triumphant."

Harry snorted loudly in Voldemort's mind, "You really don't get it, do you. Your pathetic Death Eaters couldn't summon enough power between all of them to kill me while I was sleeping. The only wizard with the power to harm me is you. The only way you have a prayer of defeating me is to expose yourself to death. I will win the war between us. I am your better. You will die, Tom."

"Get out of my mind, Potter." screamed Voldemort.

"You have your warning, Tom. Heed it. Do not attempt to anger me unduly." Harry's eyes fluttered open. "Well, I'd say that he's just a little upset to say the least."

Ron asked savagely, "He just killed a lot of people. Why is he mad?"

Harry sighed, "Right now, the only person that Tom wants to kill is me. Anyone else is just a spare. Just like Cedric. Damn, I wish that I had been there."

Ron's eyes brightened, "Hey, why don't you go there? You could pull that time travel trick like you did with me."

Harry shook his head, "I wish that I could, Ron, but it isn't possible."

Ron looked bewildered, "You did it before, why can't you do it now?"

"I can go back in time, Ron, but I can't alter the fabric of time. The effects can be bad if you do. I went back and saved your life, because I knew that I could do it without altering anyone else's actions. There are far too many people involved at the point where I would have to begin meddling to insure that I didn't break the fabric of time."

"I don't get it." said Ron.

"Okay, let me see if I can explain this satisfactorily. It's obvious that I didn't go back. Otherwise the timeframe that we are hearing would have already shown the difference. If I were to go back and stop the attack, then that means that I would either have to go disguised which would damage time, or allow myself to be recognized, and that would damage time."

Hermione jumped in with her question, "How?"

"Let's take scenario one. Let's say that I go back and stop the attack as a mysterious stranger. No one knows who saved the village. That means that no one would die, and that the Burrow would not be destroyed. However, no one would know that I was the one that saved everyone, so no one would assume that I had to go back in time. Dumbledore would not have come here to wake us in the middle of the night and we would end up with a paradox. I would have went back in time, but not went back in time. The fabric of time would be damaged. In the second scenario, everyone would know that it was me, and several people would know that it was me from the future. This would alter the reactions of everyone involved and create some serious waves through the fabric of time. Also, not good. So, you see, its basically impossible for me to go back and fix this without repercussions that would probably be worse than what actually happened. The only reason that I could think of to mess with something of this magnitude is if my past self was somehow killed, while I was in the past. The fallout from that would be disastrous."

Hermione, ever the student, asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Harry sighed, "Well, if my past self were to be killed by Voldemort, then my present self would merely cease to be. There would be some serious ripples in the flow of time, but it wouldn't create a paradox. However, if my present self was in the past when it happened, then a paradox would be created, because the effect of my past self's death would not affect my existence, because I was outside the natural flow of time when it occurred. Since I would be both alive and dead at the same time, it would create a paradox when I returned to the present."

Ginny asked, "What would happen when you came back to the present?"

Harry winced, "Well, I'm only guessing, but most likely a lot of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tidal waves. Not to mention the fact that considering my power, the resulting magical implosion would probably rob every witch and wizard on the planet of their magic. That's the worst case scenario."

Everyone simply sat around the table in silence as they absorbed the impact of Harry's words.

A/N: Well, this is the beginning of Spirit of Time. There is going to be more occur before they get back to school in this one. Expect some fluff involved. There will be some hunting in the next chapter. I want to thank everyone that stuck with me through Harry Potter and the Year of Discovery. Here are the answers to Chapter 30's reviews.

Immortalwizardelf-fan: The sequel has now begun. I hope you enjoy it as much as Year of Discovery. Thanks for the review.

Kemporer: Thanks for the review.

Skeeter007: She won't be a complete stick in the mud, but she's always going to worry. It's part of her charm. Thanks for the review.

Athenakitty: Weren't you shocked at Snape's toast? Yes, Neville will join in some of the Death Eater Hunting. Thanks for the review.

Josh Maxwell: There is going to be quite a few H/G scenes early in this fic, but then fewer through the heart of the story, then heavy again towards the end. Thanks for the review.

ExpectoPatronum0: Your waiting is over for chapter one, hopefully only to begin anew for chapter two. I hope you enjoy this as much as you seemed to enjoy The Year of Discovery. Thanks for the review.

Mr. Hifey: Power isn't everything. Thanks for the review.

Lourdes: Expect the updates like clockwork, barring act of nature. Thanks for the review.

Austenhel: I tried to bring everything together as logically and consistently as I could. Thanks for the review.

Gilly Loves Smut: You might not say that when you see what happens to take him down a notch or two. Before you ask, no, I'm not going to kill Ginny. Thanks for the review.

Solar: Thanks for the review.

RyokoTenchi: I had to gear his character that way. If he scares you, he scares the bad guys. Thanks for the review.

DarkRose19: I do my best. Thanks for the review.

Top Quark: I'm afraid that you're going to have to wait on killing Malfoy for a bit. Thanks for the review.

Maria: What made you think Tonks was evil? As you can see Harry is staying at Grimmauld Place until the end of this one. Then, onto Potter Manor. Thanks for the review.

Lucugirl07: The real sixth book will most likely end with a confrontation between Harry and Voldemort. One that Harry will lose most likely. Thanks for the review.

PrincessSkywalkerOrgana: Thanks for the review.

Jaquelyne: I took the canon characters and altered them as I felt the change I made in Harry would affect them. Maybe I will create some questions for you to ask. Thanks for the review.

jelly belly: He cheated. He stole it from Voldemort. Thanks for the review.

RLupin1003: You've touched on the pivotal point. Was it a bluff? Which Harry was talking? The one from the future that came back to save Ron, or the supposedly dead Harry lying on the ground? Expect Neville to get into the mix some more. Especially in the final battle. Thanks for the review.

Blip-dragon: I had to throw in a Fred-George type prank. I've glossed over that aspect of the story too much. Thanks for the review.

Harryp123: I wanted to have Harry show the Dursleys up. Expect him to string them along one last time. Thanks for the review.

Phreddoesn'tlikeyou: I assume you were just reading it when you began reviewing. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the reviews.

Dragonstorm316: Just to warn you, you should probably go ahead and get some of those hexes you were planning on sending via owl post ready. You're really going to thing that I am evil in about five weeks. Thanks for the review.

white tiger: If you liked that, wait till you see what else I have planned for the Dursleys. Thanks for the review.

Pegoheart144: I liked the prank idea myself. Thanks for the review.

Mark33-w: And it begins. Thanks for the review.

Amy: Here it is. Thanks for the review.

Sillypaulie: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review.

Dnd4ever: The sequel has arrived. Thanks for the review.

Cur03: I'm sad too, but onto another day. Thanks for the review.