Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not Harry Potter. Not Ron. Not even Hermione. So please. Don't sue me. I'm just a humble devoted fan.

A/N: This is my first fanfic. I hope you like it.

Chapter 1

On a sweltering hot summer day, Harry Potter lay under a tree in the park staring into space with his hands behind his head. He wore his baggy pants and a shirt, passed down from his cousin Dudley. Harry kept thinking about Hogwarts and what happened in his fifth year. He kept thinking about the way Sirius died and hoping he would come back. Harry remembered very clearly just a week ago when he stood witness of Albus Dumbledore's death and could do nothing to prevent it.

'No I mustn't think about that,' Harry thought, shaking his head hard. His round, thick glasses slid off of his face and onto the ground. Harry didn't bother picking them up.

Minutes later he picked up his glasses and put them on. He stood up and brushed the grass off his pants. The sky was getting dark and Harry could see the first stars appearing in the sky. He briskly walked back to Privet Drive with quite difficulty; his drastically baggy pants threaten to fall down. They were so baggy in fact, that Harry had to use both hands to keep it from falling off completely. Before long, Harry arrived at a normal looking house and stepped though the open door. As soon as he stepped through the door he ducked to the side as a frying pan came soaring in his direction, hitting where his face had been moments before.

Harry raced up to his room two steps at a time. He pulled out a quill and with great difficulty, yanked a scrap of parchment out from underneath many spell books and other magical objects lying around on his desk. Brushing away the many odd and colorful objects, he finally cleared what little space he had. He dipped the quill into a dull and nearly empty, crystal ink bottle and began to write. He paused just before he put the nub on the parchment. Thinking quickly he scribbled a short and to the point letter, yet vague enough not to mean anything to anyone who might try to intercept the letter.

R. and H.,

I got your letter. Leave soon.

H.

Harry tied the letter to Hedwig and opened the window. Harry stroked Hedwig as he fetched a piece of meat and handed it to her. He waited until she finished eating then told her, "This is supposed to be sent to Ron and Hermione. Take care Hedwig." Hedwig flew out into the night sky.

"HARRY!" the house shook as Uncle Vernon's voice boomed. "When are you leaving? I will kick you out of the house tomorrow, before you can say..." Uncle Vernon's voice quickly drops down a notch, but so it still could be heard by Harry, "magic." Harry, in his minds eye, saw his uncle shudder.

It has been a day since he came back from the burrow. He had attended the wedding as he promised his friend Ron. He had thought it had turned out nice after all the budget cuts they had to make and with fact that Fleur had tried to change the whole decoration to the color silver instead of gold. The wedding was a very quiet and somber one, granted that Voldemort was alive and about. And when he arrived at the Dursley's house, he promptly told Uncle Vernon his plan of leaving just the day before. Uncle Vernon was already anticipating the departure of Harry.

'It doesn't matter,' Harry thought. 'I didn't want to come here the minute I stepped into their house.' referring to the Dursley's household. He had only wanted to carry out the request Dumbledore had made: Before he turned seventeen, he would come back to the Dursley's house and renew the old spell thathis mothergavehimfor protection.

"You hear me boy! You hear? I'll kick you out! And don't you come back here. Begging to be brought back in because of Lord Whats-Yamacallit is going to kill you!" Uncle Vernon yelled up the stairs, drifting through Harry's open doorway and into his room.

Harry ignored the last comment, knowing that he wouldn't come back, even if it could save him from death. Harry packed up the many objects lying on the floor and the table and dumped them in his trunk without a care of the world. He dragged his luggage down the stairs and rolled it out the front door.

Walking a few feet down the street, he pulled his wand out of his back pocket and pointed it straight up into the air. Instantly a large purple bus appeared in front of him. Harry's heart leapt. No matter how many times he rode the night bus, its sudden arrival always seemed to make his heart skipped a beat.

The doors of the Knight Bus open to allow Harry in. A fat, yet graceful man came out from the belly of the purple monster and out from memory recited the phrase Harry always heard before he got onto the bus. The fat man picked up Harry's suitcase and turned sideway for Harry to go on the bus first, although it did neither good as when he was facing forward. As Harry finally got into the bus, the light of the bus shined on his uncovered forehead revealing his scar. The man dropped Harry's suitcase in amazement and started to speak, but Harry was already into the bus. In a hurry the man picked up the suitcase and walked into the door before it closed. As the door closed it disappeared with a pop.

Inside, Harry handed eleven Sickles to the driver. He walked toward the stairs in the back and fell over. His glasses fell off and broke underneath the body of a man who fell off his bed when the bus started without a warning. Harry quickly repaired it and placed it on his face, at the same time trying not to lose his balance. The bus swerved left to right dodging the muggle's cars. Harry fell over again and lost his glasses again which went to the right of the bus then to the left with Harry crawling after it.

The bus stopped just as Harry grabbed his glasses. He slid to the front of the bus then slid back to the back of the bus. Hastily, Harry put on his glasses and turned to face the front as an elderly woman of forty-two walked onto the bus. Harry turned back around and quickly climbed the steps next to him that lead to the upper stories of the bus. As he climbed to the top, he stepped out of the way as a bed came towards him and hitting the wall. Harry stuck his head into the room being very careful to stick it back out if something came flying at him.

The room was full of beds – unattached beds. The whole place was empty, except for the beds…unless you counted the owl that sat on one of the beds flapping its wing around as beds moved toward the front of the Knight bus.

"Hedwig!" Harry yelled out. He jumped onto the clumped-up beds and leaped his way to Hedwig. As he reached Hedwig, he noticed a letter tied to her leg. Hedwig tried to balance on one leg and stick the other leg with the letter out, but soon gave up and gave Harry a meaningful gaze. Harry picked Hedwig up and pulled off the letter. He ripped it open.

H.,

We're coming by knight.

R. and H.

'Knight? What do they mean by 'knight'?' Harry mused over it for a while and then slapped his head with his hand because of his stupidity, but he had to quickly bring it down to grab the bed frame as the bus abruptly moved again. 'They mean the Knight Bus.'

A few minutes later the bus apparated in front of a tall rickety building, The Burrow. Harry pushed his face up to the window and saw three shadows walking toward the bus, their luggage dragged behind them. Harry craned his neck, trying to see them as they arrived in front of the bus door. Light spilled out and illuminated their face. Harry's heart skipped a beat when he saw the girl with long, curly, bright red hair climb onto the bus.

A/N: Yah, I know it ends abruptly, but I'll keep updating…or at least I'll try to.