POC2: Hermione is my HP muse. I have a different muse for every fandom.

Disclaimer: Do you think I own it? No? Good, you're not a total idiot.

POC2: RANDOMLY, DON'T INSULT THE READER!!

Spoilers: Books 1-6. No duh.

Summary: Harry has turned 17, and he has his battle against Voldemort mainly planned out. But when new information is learned and old secrets are revealed, Harry will have to change his plans drastically, and he may get the chance to do some thing he never thought possible.

POC2: Well, here goes nothing.

A Strange Homecoming

Harry Potter looked up at Number Four Privet Drive, and sighed. Although he had been looking forward to the presence of his friends, they had decided that the Dursleys would probably not react very well to two unknown wizards turning up along with their nephew, so Ron and Hermione would see him at the wedding. "Just once more,"he reminded himself, "once more, and you can leave forever."With this slightly more cheerful thought in his mind, he shifted his luggage to one hand and knocked.

An enormous, beefy, neck-less man answered the door. "Hello? Oh. It's you."

"It's nice to see you again, too, Uncle Vernon," Harry answered. He was fairly used to being treated like a dead slug by his Aunt's family.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need a place to stay for a few days. Then I'll leave forever. I'll never bother you again."

"No."

"It's just a few days, Vernon, let the boy stay." Harry and his uncle both turned in shock to look at the thin, bony woman who had just spoke.

"But Petunia-"

"Now really Vernon, you heard the boy, he'll be gone in a few days." She ignored her husband, who was still mouthing soundlessly at her, and showed Harry in. "So, how was school?" Seeming not to notice Harry's lack of response, she continued. "Here, I'll help you take your things up to your room. So where are you going when you leave, and how are you getting there?"

"What? Oh, the Weasleys are picking me up for their son's wedding. Don't worry," he continued quickly, "they're going to get me from a nearby park."

"A wedding, oh how wonderful" Harry stared; it was not the response he had expected. "Is this everything?" Harry nodded mutely. As they had been talking they had carried all his stuff into the spare bedroom. "Good. Come downstairs, I have something to show you."

Still in shock, Harry followed his aunt down to the basement, to a small storage cabinet. Inside was a cardboard box with large letters on the side that said LILY. Not understanding why his aunt and uncle would have a box with his mother's name on it, Harry looked at his aunt, who motioned for him to open the box. He did so, and gasped.

It was filled with jewelry, personal letters, a few old school supplies, some baby toys, pictures (the muggle, non-moving, kind as well as the magical, moving kind), yearbooks, and even, down at the bottom, a few dairies. Harry pulled out a particularly beautiful necklace, a gold chain with a small lion charm, also gold, mouth open and roaring, with small ruby eyes, teeth, and claws.

"They were your mother's," said Aunt Petunia sadly, "all of them. I think that necklace was a wedding present to Lily from her in-laws. A Potter family heirloom. She would have wanted you to have it."

Harry just stared. Quite apart from what he had just found out, he was fairly sure it was the first time Aunt Petunia had used his mother's name, or even mentioned his grandparents. What was going on?

"Here, let me help you take that to your room."

"Oh, thanks." They walked up in silence and put the memoirs in Harry's room.

"I'll leave you to look at these," Aunt Petunia said and made to leave. Suddenly, she turned around. "Harry? You will visit sometimes, won't you? After you leave? At least think about it, please?"

Harry wondered why he would return to the place where he had known so much sorrow, but he somehow found himself agreeing. As soon as his aunt was gone, he lay down on his bed and tried to make sense of things. What was going on with his aunt? Why was she so nice all of a sudden? Why did his aunt and uncle have a box of his mother's things in the first place? What was the meaning of the necklace?

Unable to sleep with these thoughts running through his head, he stood up to look at the new discovery. He picked up one of the documents on top and unrolled it. He sat for a few minutes, simply staring at what he had found.

The parchment, which Harry had originally thought was a letter, was actually a beautiful family tree, an actual picture of a tree with names on the branches and pictures smiling at him from above each name.

But what shocked Harry most was not the modern picture of himself grinning slightly and waving, it was not the tiny, perfect, fruit surrounding each name, it was not even the picture of Albus Dumbledore marked as the first cousin of one of his direct ancestors.

What shocked Harry was the name at the top of the tree, with a line leading straight down to his own name. It was a name he recognized and a picture he had seen often.

The name was Godric Gryffindor.

W: I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!! I KNEW THAT WAS HIS ANCESTOR!!!!!!!! Even though you are writing this fic, I feel like your psychic!

POC2: Good for you. Wow, that was a long one. So we all knew the first surprise, but Harry didn't.

R: It was kind of lame.

POC2: Don't worry, I'm just getting started.

R: That's what I was afraid of.

POC2: Shut up.

H: But what's going on with his aunt? And when do I come in?

POC2: The answer to both questions, dear muse, is next chapter.

W: I'm wondering the same thing………

POC2: All will be explained in time. Oh, I realize that at this point it is traditional to put in a plea for reviews, so… ahem. Please review? (puppy eyes) please?? Oh, and I'd say no flames but, umm…

R: Flames make me laugh. GO FLAMES!! (cackle)

POC2: Our school basketball team is the flames…. Err, see what I mean?

M: Meow.

POC2: Midnight says, 'until next time, goodbye.'

Next: What is going on with Aunt Petunia?