Update 5/4/12-Revised and corrected chapters 7 through 13. I've had to edit on my own lately since my wife and I have not had much time. Having two toddlers will do that. So I'm certain I've still missed some things and errors will be found. I apologize if you spot any. Happy Star Wars Day!

Update 1/2/2012-Revised and corrected versions of chapters 5 and 6 now up.

Update 12/7/2011-I uploaded the revised and corrected version of this story through the first four chapters. Granted, we're not perfect so we may have missed some spelling and grammar errors, but hopefully we're catching and fixing them all.

Update: 10/17/2011 - I realize that I've made more than a few grammar and spelling mistakes in my story. My wife and I have started going through the story together to tighten it up, fix all the errors we find, and make it flow more smoothly. Nothing will change regarding plot structure, but many areas will be re-worded for clarity. My wife is a professional storyteller, so she knows what she's doing when it comes to proofreading. Due to real life, it may take a few months, but the entire story will be updated when we're finished. In the meantime, thanks for the kind reviews and I hope my mistakes have not been too distracting. I apologize if they are.

Hello gentle reader, Thank you for checking out my story.

Full Synopsis

As Harry begins his sixth year, he begins to learn many things, not only about himself, but his friends as well. Secrets seem to abound everywhere, and not everything is as it seems. As Harry learns about the Horcruxes, his destiny takes him and his growing circle of friends on the path of unity and discovery. In the process, they not only learn how to defeat Voldemort, but learn about the very nature of the soul itself. A/U After OOTP

Background

This is my version of book 6 and 7. I've been working on this story for the last couple years, on and off when I've had the time as an experiment to test out my writing skills. I've never written a story before, so I thought I'd see what happened. I only expected this to be maybe 50 to 100 pages at most, but it ended up being six times that. I intended to have this story rated K, but put it as rated T because of the battle scenes, just in case.

When the world was still waiting for the Order of the Phoenix novel to come out, and I believe the third movie, I found myself reading fanfiction to get my Harry Potter fix in and was intrigued at what people's theories and ideas were about what was to come. Once all the books were done, I kept reading because I enjoyed other people's versions of how it could have ended. The more I read, the more I found myself mentally correcting errors here or changing a scene there as if I had been the author. Finally, I decided I should just write my own story after this one had been rolling around in my head for some time. So I finally sat down to write it out and this is the outcome.

I wrote the story complete before posting it because it was frustrating for me to really get into a story, and then have to wait weeks on end for the next chapter...if it got finished at all. By the time it was updated, I often couldn't remember what I had read and had to go back and reread some things. Also, if I was reading more than one story at a time I would get some of them confused when the next chapter came out. So I posted this as complete, allowing the reader to come and go as they please, yet knowing the entire story is here for them without waiting for the next chapter.

Fandom

I am primarily a Harry/Hermione shipper, but I wrote this because I also really enjoy reading Harry/Susan stories. Susan's character is so unknown and so wide open that there are many ways to develop her character. It gave me a bit of freedom knowing that her background wasn't as confined as the other characters, and allowed me to interpret her in my own unique way.

When writing my story, I tried picture the actors from the films and found that Hermione was the most diffucult while Luna and Snape seemed the easiest. Dumbledore was written with Richard Harris in mind over Michael Gamdon. I felt Richard Harris portrayed Dumbledore in the truest sense and felt Gamdon's portrayal was forced and it felt...wrong. Besides, Richard Harris' voice is so distinct, that it was simply easier that way.

Of all the books in the series, I enjoyed Half-Blood Prince the least. It was the only book in the series, after starting it, that I was able to put down...more than once. It felt like the entire book was nothing but an exposition to me. Although I admit I was thrown for quite a loop and did enjoy the twist at the end, but overall thought it was too boring.

Anyway, that's my HP history. I hope you enjoy.